The New Girl
by hanyouinlove
Summary: Evee is at King's Cross Station awaiting her train. She's surprised to see two boys lean against the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 and disappear. The train can wait. She has to check this out... SEQUEL IN PROGRESS! Be sure to check for updates!
1. Part one: King's Cross Station

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter... Sorry I didn't have anything clever to say. I just woke up and I don't think my brain is functioning properly... I _do_ own a new character I just made up...  
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**A/N: I don't know where this is going. I have so many stories started that I haven't finished and here I am starting a new one...**

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It was the owl that first caught her eye. A huge, white owl with large eyes and sharp talons contained in a padlocked cage. Evee had only seen birds like that on the Discovery Channel. She never once thought she'd see one in real life, much less in the middle of King's Cross Station. 

Evee was an avid animal lover. She was one of those children who was constantly finding stray cats and wounded birds and bringing them home and nursing them back to health. And of course, Evee's mother Catherine welcomed the animals into her home with open arms. But there'd be none of that now.

Evee was going to live with her Aunt Gertrude in Manchester. Aunt Gertrude detested animals. But that's where Evee's mother wanted her to live. It said so in her will.

But Evee didn't like thinking about her mother's death or Aunt Gertrude. So she kept her mind busy while waiting for her train by "people watching". She'd pick a person from the crowd and make up something about them based on how they looked. Sometimes, if she came up with a really good one, she'd write it down in a little notebook she always kept in her pocket.

She was just writing a story about a handsome young man with a broken nose (He was a male model who got in a fist fight with another male model over who would wear which underwear at a Tommy Hilfiger fashion show) when she saw the owl.

Naturally, she looked around for the owner. What kind of person would keep an owl as a pet? Her mind was already rattling off a couple of nonsensical ideas (He was an American scientist who just returned from a trip to the North Pole where he was doing research on the blight of the Albino Penguins. He figured out a way to clone them, creating an abundance of new penguins the natives could use for food and such. They gave him the owl as a token of their appreciation... ect.).

So Evee was shocked to see a young boy about her age grab the cage off the floor, place it on a cart, and wheel it away towards the higher number platforms. He was closely followed by a a boy with the most shocking oragnge hair (carrot overdose, perhaps?) she had ever seen.

Evee checked her watch. 10:52. Her train didn't leave Platform 5 until 11:15. She had enough time to follow the boys and be back in time to catch her train. Maybe if she asked politely, they'd let her pet the owl. She stood and shoved her notebook back in her pocket. Grabbing the handle of her never-lost-in-a-crowd-flourescent-pink suitcase, she set off after the boys.

When Evee was within shouting distance, she stopped. Would they think it was strange if she just walked up to them and said, "Can I pet your owl, kind sir?" Evee didn't think so, but then again, her mother always told her she had no boundaries...

No matter. Evee continued on. The boys stopped next to the metal barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. They abruptly stopped talking and looked about them cautiously. Taken off gaurd by their strange behavior, Evee stopped walking and ducked behind a pillar. Why were thay being so paraniod? Then they casually leaned on the barrier and disappeared. Wait. _Disappeared_?

"No way," Evee mumbled. She rubbed her eyes, Sure enough, the two boys were no longer there. And neither was the owl.

Evee stepped out from behind the pillar and slowly walked to the barrier, looking every direction to see if maybe the boys merged into the crowd going to other platforms. You'd think a flaming red-head would be easy to spot, but no such luck.

She came to the spot she last saw them. "Well..." Evee hesitantly reached her hand towards the barrier, turning her head away and squinting her eyes. Surprisinly, Evee wasn't getting any strange looks from passersby. It was almost as if they were ignoring her. Not that she cared, really. She just kept reaching. But she never touched the barrier.

Evee jerked her hand back and held it protectively against her chest. She gave the barrier a confused look and checked her watch once again. 10:57. "What the hell! I've got time to kill." She shrugged as she thrust her hand through the barrier.

This was surprisingly and emmensly enjoyable to Evee for some reason. She pulled her arm back and then stuck it through again. But this time, her hand was met by another hand instead of thin air. Evee barely had enough time to mutter, "What the hell?" before she was pulled completely, suitcase and all, through the barrier by the unseen hand.

The other side of the barrier was like a world unto itseslf. There were a bunch of kinds hugging their parents on a wide platform and many others loading large trunks onto a scarlet (scarlet?) steam engine. Evee looked up at the sign above her. "'Platform 9 3/4... Hogwarts Express'?" she read.

"That's right... First time through the barrier or something?"

Evee turned to find the red-haired boy standing next to her. It appeared as though he was also the owner of the mysterious hand, on account of the fact he still had a firm hold on Evee's right hand. She looked down at their hands, then back to the boy and raised one eyebrow.

The boy turned a bright (and quite lovely, Evee noted) shade of pink. To cover up his embarassment, he vigorously shook Evee's hand. "Ron Weasley," he mumbled quickly.

Evee (who wasn't embarassed at all, by the way) replied, "Evelyn Collins."

Ron dropped her hand and rubbed the back of his head.

Evee nodded and looked around slowly. "So, Ron Weasley. Would you kindly tell me where I am?"

He gave her a puzzled look and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the train emitted a large cloud of smoke and a screetching wistle, which lasted about five seconds.

Ron shouted, "Come on before we miss the train!"

Evee looked at the wall behind her. "No. Thanks. It was nice meeting you and all, but I really need to get back and-"

"The barrier's closed." Ron furrowed his brow and gave her a funny look. He turned away and dashed towards the train and hopped in.

Attendants were starting to shut the doors and the engine gave an impatient burst of steam. Evee turned and gave one last look at the wall. "Guess I'm gonna miss my train..." She turned back to the train. "Wait for me!"

A man who was just shutting the last door stopped and swung it back open for her.

"Yer lucky, miss," he told Evee as he helped her lug her suitcae up the steps. "Almost missed the train."

"Thanks," she replied breathlessly. The door was shut behind her. Evee looked around as the train surged forward, causing her to stumble.

"Evelyn!"

She turned to the direction the call came from. "Ron Weasley! Nice to see you!" She walked up to him and resisted her sudden urge to ruffle his hair. "Call me Evee, please."

"And just call me Ron, please. You don't have to call me by my first and last name, you know."

"Hmm... I figured as much."

Ron gave her an exasperated sigh. They had only just met, and he was already getting frustrated with her. This had to be a new record for Evee. "Come in." Ron stepped aside to reveal a tiny compartment holding a few people and best of all: the owl.


	2. Awkward Silences

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... But I do own Evee... take _that_ J.K. Rowling!!!!**

**Thanks to my reviewers... all 3 of them... I'll be expecting more this time... **

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Two minutes later, Evee was seated in between Ron and the boy with the owl, whom Evee had dubbed "Owl Boy". Evee sat stroking the owl's head and talking to it softly. 

"I think she likes me." Evee scratched the nape of its neck and the owl squinted in approval.

Owl Boy looked at her. "How did you know Hedwig was a she?"

Evee shrugged and continued scratching Hedwig. After a moments pause, She looked up. "So… I know the _owl's_ name…" She added, "Hint, hint," under her breath.

"Oh. Of course. I'm Hermione Granger," (At that moment, Evee was thinking, _I like her… and I'll call her… _Worm_ione._) replied the girl sitting across from Ron who until that moment had had her nose buried in a thick (_and rather smelly_, added Evee) book. Evee squinted to see the cover. "Standard Book of Spells: Grade Seven"… Wait. Was she seriously _reading _that thing? Besides the book, Evee noticed she had medium-length wavy, brown hair and a petite figure. But Hermione was no comparison to the girl sitting next to her.

She had bright orange hair like Ron's with the exception of one thick streak of hot pink… No. Red. No. Purple? Her hair seemed to be changing colors as Evee watched. (_Maybe it's the light…_) Anyway, her hair reminded Evee of a really bizarre Popsicle that she used to eat when she was little… While Evee sat trying to remember the name of that particular brand of Popsicle, the girl spoke.

"Ginny Weasley." She shook Evee's hand. (_That explains the hair… I know! I'll call her Mini Weasley… Hmm… I've come up with better…_) Ginny was still talking. "And this git,"-she jerked her thumb to the boy sitting next to her- "is Neville Longbottom." Evee stifled a laugh. (_Well, looks like I don't have to come up with a new name for this one…_)

Neville shook Evee's hand. "I'm Ginny's boyfriend!" he said excitedly.

Ginny nodded and smiled… or grimaced?

"And I'm Harry Potter," said Owl Boy.

Evee put on her best "Ooh! Look! New people!" smile. "Nice to meet you all. Call me Evee."

Then came that awkward pause that happens right after you've met someone new and you're not quite sure what to say to them after all the formalities. Evee resumed petting Hedwig, Ron and Harry took turns looking at Evee out of the corners of their eyes, Hermione went back to reading her book, and Neville and Ginny exchanged dreamy looks, but incidentally, not with each other. (Ginny was staring off into space above Harry's left ear wearing a goofy smile, while Neville was merely ogling Ginny's breasts.)

Harry was the first to break the silence. "Huh." He was now looking intently at Evee.

"Huh?" Evee repeated.

"Well… It's just that," he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Usually when people first meet me, they…"

"Freak out?" offered Ron.

"Overreact?" said Hermione, peering sternly out from behind her book.

"Fall in love," Ginny said quietly. Hermione's eyes widened, but she said nothing and turned back to her book, pretending to be intently studying a chart of some sort. Ginny realized what she'd said and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes flickering rapidly from Harry to Neville and back to Harry. Luckily for her, the two seemed to be the only ones who hadn't noticed her outburst.

Ron looked over to Evee and made a great show of rolling his eyes.

Evee whispered in his ear, "I guess that wasn't news to you."

Ron looked back at Ginny and Neville and shook his head. The look on his face told Evee that now wasn't the time to talk about Ginny's feelings for Harry. She made a mental note to ask him about that later.

Harry scratched his head, oblivious to what was going on around him. "Yeah. Well. You didn't do… anything."

"Course not." Evee looked to Harry. "Why would I?"

Everyone stopped and stared at Evee like she had a hand growing out of her head. She absentmindedly felt her forehead. Nope. No extra limbs there… "What?" She looked at each person in turn and they all met her stare with equally puzzled expressions. (Well, all, that is, except for Neville who sort of hiccupped and looked at his shoes.)

"You mean to say you've never heard of Harry Potter?" Ron's mouth was gaping, quite accurately resembling a goldfish Evee had once had as a child. (_Spot, I think his name was…_)

Evee shook her head back and forth slowly.

"The Boy-Who-Lived? Ring a bell?"

She made a face. "Nope. No bells."

"Where did you come from?" Ron asked, thoroughly shocked.

"Southampton," Evee replied matter-of-factly.

What followed was the second awkward silence among the group since Evee had arrived. The day was off to a good start.

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**Review!!! (It always makes me feel loved!!!)**


	3. Harry's Scar

**Disclaimer: Is this really necessary?**

**Yay! People reviewed. And to answer one of the questions I was asked, yes. Ginny did dye her hair. I don't know why. I just thought it would be interesting...**

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"I think I know what's wrong with you," said Hermione pompously as she shut her book. "You're a muggle, aren't you!" 

"Hey!" Evee rose and put her hands on her hips. "I think I resent that remark!"

"No, no, no," said Ron, pulling Evee back to her seat by her shirt. "What she means is, you're non-magical."

Evee rolled her eyes. "Well of course not! That's just ridiculous!" She didn't get the nods of agreement she was hoping for and when she looked at Ron, he quickly turned away like there was something in the hallway he was suddenly very interested in. "Isn't it?" she added sheepishly.

As though it would answer her question, everyone pulled out these little stick things… or were they…

"Wands!?" asked Evee. "_Wands_!?" Her voice had become rather shrill and loud.

Ginny made a shushing gesture. "Calm down!"

Evee shut her eyes and leaned against Ron's shoulder. "Oh. My. God." _I knew there was something fishy about that barrier… Well, of _course _there was! How many barriers lead to another dimension?_

"Look," demanded Hermione. Evee opened her eyes and watched as Hermione stood. She flicked her wrist and pointed her wand at Ron. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

Evee's head suddenly slipped off Ron's shoulder as he began to rise and float in mid-air.

"See?" asked Hermione. She smiled as she slowly lowered Ron back into his seat.

Once Ron was on solid ground again, he crossed his arms and muttered, "I hate it when she does that…" Evee wanted to put her head back on his shoulder, but something told her that that would be awkward… so she did it anyway. Ron didn't seem to mind. He thought Evee was just still shocked about the magic.

"But she can't be a muggle," argued Harry. "She got through the barrier. It's bewitched! Muggles can't get through."

Evee raised her head slightly. "I love being talked about like I'm not here…" No one seemed to hear her.

Ginny shrugged. "We'll let McGonagall deal with her." She put her wand back in her jacket pocket and the others followed suit (Ron, with some difficulty because Evee was still leaning heavily on him.).

"Who's McGonagall?" asked Evee.

"Of course, you wouldn't know." Ron looked down at her. "She's a Professor and the head of Gryffindor house."

"Gryffindor house?" Evee was now feeling utterly lost.

Harry covered his eyes with his hand. "She's hopeless!" he cried.

Ron started to quietly explain the finer details of Hogwarts and the wizarding world. The rest of the group milled about the compartment talking in hushed voices and shooting glances at Ron and Evee. Occasionally, they'd catch a bit of what they were talking about like, "You really _do_ fly on brooms?" and "This Snape person sounds like a jackass." or "So there are owls _everywhere_?"

When Harry stood to return Hedwig to her cage, he overheard Evee exclaim, "So _that's _why I can hear what snakes are thinking! I told my mum I could talk to snakes, but she just thought I was making it up. That it was my imagination. But I really can!" Ron's face went white.

Harry stopped in his tracks. "You mean you can talk to snakes?"

Evee seemed surprised to see Harry and the others listening. "Well, yeah!" She looked back to Ron. "Can't all wizards?"

Ron gave her a pained look. "Evee…" He ran his hand through his hair. "Speaking Parsletongue was Slytherin's… erm… specialty…"

Evee buried her head in her hands. "Oh no! Not _that_ creep! I figure out I have a cool power, and it's something bad!"

Harry knelt next to her. "It's not all bad. I'm a Parslemouth too."

Evee raised her head and smiled at Harry. Then she noticed the scar on his forehead. It looked like… a tiny lightning bolt. Evee suddenly reached forward and lightly touched it with the tips of her fingers.

The whole compartment grew silent. Evee felt Harry stiffen. She drew back quickly, shoving her hand under her thigh. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I don't know why I did that. Sorry." Evee looked down. She couldn't bear to see the expression on Harry's face another moment.

Harry stood up too fast, causing Hedwig to almost topple off his shoulder. She let out a sharp screech and nipped at his ear. Harry either didn't notice, or didn't care. He silently walked out of the compartment and down the hall. The others eventually went back to what they had been doing.

"Ohh!" Evee winced. "_Why _did I _do _that?" She clenched her fists and began beating the back of her head on the seat cushion.

Ron grabbed her chin to stop her. "Don't worry. He'll get over it." Ron let go.

Evee opened her eyes one at a time.

"It's just that… Well, when he was a baby, Harry's parents were killed by You-Know-Who."

"That Moldy-Wart guy? That's terrible…"

"He tried to kill Harry too," –Evee gasped- "but for some reason, he couldn't." Ron looked down the hall after Harry. "That's when he got the scar. I never knew he was so sensitive about it… it's what he's famous for… Well, that and destroying He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Evee looked down, for once lost for words. Ron sat and rubbed her back in an I'm-trying-to-be-comforting sort of way.

After a few minutes of sitting, Harry came back. Evee jumped up and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head in his chest. Harry was a bit shocked at first, but relaxed after a few seconds. He carefully put his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Evee stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, "I know what it's like to loose someone you love. And to feel like you'll never be happy again. But remember: You'll always be happy if you just let yourself." Harry squeezed her waist tighter and then the pair pulled away.

Hermione and Ginny were hiding behind schoolbooks watching the whole scene.

"Dang!" Hermione whispered as Evee and Harry went to sit down. She turned to Ginny "I was sure for a second there, they were going to kiss!"

Ginny turned bright pink and her expression became one of shock. She looked to she if Neville had noticed anything, but he was fast asleep. Ginny slapped Hermione playfully on the arm.

Ron looked at Hermione and frowned. For some reason, that comment about Harry and Evee bothered him a lot. He brooded over it until the snack cart arrived and everyone was distracted by Evee's reaction after eating a tripe flavored Bertie Bott's Bean.


	4. Robes and Worries

**Disclaimer: Would I really be doing this if _I_ came up with these characters?**

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Evee was awakened by a sharp tapping sound. She felt the vague sensation of movement beneath her. Of course. She was on the train going to live with her aunt. Evee groaned inwardly and kept her eyes shut. She had had the most beautiful dream about these kids who were wizards! And one of them had and owl and another had really great orange hair… 

"Evee! Evee! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Evee finally opened her eyes. There was a girl's head hovering inches from her own. A head that had orange hair attached to it…

"Mini Weasley!" Evee really didn't mean to say it out loud. She was just so happy it wasn't a dream.

Ginny pulled back and raised her eyebrows. "What?"

Evee shook her head. "Nothing. Just a dream."

Ginny seemed satisfied with Evee's improvised answer and went to wake Neville by hitting him with a magazine he had fallen asleep reading. (Judging by the picture on the cover, it was a very dirty magazine and he got slapped again once Ginny saw what it was.)

_What time is it?_ Evee wondered. It was dark outside and tiny torches were lit in the hallway. She sat up and stretched.

"Oof!"

Evee looked up. She had accidentally punched Ron in the face when she stretched. (She'd also used him as a pillow and Harry as a footrest while she slept.) Evee swung her legs off Harry's lap and sat up straight. "Sorry!" she said to Ron.

He rubbed his nose. "'S okay." He leaned across Evee to shake Harry awake. "Get up!"

Harry jerked awake and his hand instantly went to his scar, but only briefly. Evee was sure she was the only one who noticed.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," Hermione reported. "You should put your robes on." Hermione flung, what looked to Evee like a black choir robe, over her shoulders as Harry and Ron groaned.

"Well, at least it's the last year we have to wear the bloody things," said Harry, shoving his hand through an armhole.

Ron, who had already gotten his robe on, began to pull the sleeves down over his hands. "At least _you _can get new ones every year!" Ron scoffed. "Look at his!" He gestured to the hem of his robe which was a good five inches too short. He sat down miserably. "They haven't fit since I hit my growth spurt…"

He said something else, but Evee was distracted by Ginny who had leaned over and whispered in her ear, "There was no growth spurt. I was tired of him playing tricks on me, so I switched all his robes with mine."

Evee stifled a laugh. "And he can't tell the difference?"

Ginny shook her head in mock pity. "It's been like this for three years."

Now Hermione was talking. "Honestly, Ron!" She whipped out her wand, and pointing at his robe, she said, "_Elongoso_." Ron's robes lengthened until they touched the top of his shoes.

Ron looked at Hermione in bewilderment. "Hermione! Why didn't you do that before?" he whined.

Hermione muttered so that only Evee and Ginny could hear her, "I liked watching him parade around in girls' robes." The girls exchanged a giggle, making the boys feel left out and completely useless, like usual.

Evee tapped Hermione lightly on the shoulder. "Um… I don't have…" she pulled on the side of Hermione's robe.

Hermione slapped her forehead. "Of course! Hold on. I think I have an extra one somewhere." She held Evee at arm's length and looked her up and down. "I think it'll fit you. We're about the same size…" Hermione's eyes fell on Evee's chest. "Except, I'm not so blessed in _that_ department," she whispered. Evee smiled and crossed her arms as Hermione turned and began to rummage through a bag she had stowed under her seat.

"_That was mildly weird…" _thought Evee.

"Here!" Hermione had emerged from the bag holding a black robe identical to all the others. She tossed it to Evee, but instead of catching it, Evee let it land with a muffled _foomph _on her head.

Ron nudged Evee's side with his elbow. "Nice catch."

Evee snatched the robe off her head. "Ha ha." She held it up to her face and studied the crest on the left-hand side: a lion on a background of red and gold. Evee ran her fingers over the words embroidered beneath. "Gryffindor." She smiled and put the robe on. For the first time since her mother died, Evee felt truly happy.


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**This is just some background info on Evee for those who are curious. It doesn't really have much to do with the story, so you can skip it if you want...**

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So, I think I'll take the time now to describe Evee, as it was brought to my attention that the reader didn't really know what she looked like. 

Evee is around 17 years old. She lived in Southampton, England with her mother and numerous pets until her mother's death… but I'll address that later…

She is average height and slender with long, wavy, reddish-brown hair that she keeps in a ponytail most of the time. Her eyes are amber colored and she uses very heavy black eyeliner and shadow. (She thinks it makes her look more sophisticated.) Evee has fair skin and can never seem to get a proper tan.

Evee dresses for comfort, usually in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. She always wears a thin, silver chain, that has her mother's wedding ring on it, around her neck.

I think that's all for now… If you have any CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, please feel free to review to your heart's content. (I hate those people who just bash stories and then don't give any reason as to why they don't like them or don't give any suggestions for improvement…)

-hanyouinlove


	6. Snubbing Malfoy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anyother characters in this story, except Evee.**

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Ginny rushed to the window. "We're here!" she cried excitedly. Evee put her nose against the glass next to Ginny's. Hogwarts slowly came into view as the train rounded a corner. 

Evee squinted into the night. "_That's _Hogwarts?"

"Mm hm." Ginny backed away from the window and went to retrieve her purse from under her seat.

Evee stayed where she was looking at the magnificent castle in the distance until the window was foggy with her breath. She only moved after the train had shuddered to a stop and Ron had tapped her on the shoulder.

"Come on," ordered Ron. Evee turned and followed him out of he compartment and into the crowded hallway. She saw the others from their group standing a little ways down the hallway, which in the rush to get off the train had turned into a big traffic jam of bodies.

She'd never thought there would be other kids on the train. _Well, duh, Evee, _She told herself. _It is a school. _But Evee felt like she was forgetting something… Of course! Her suitcase! She had left it in the compartment. Evee was reluctant to have to push her way back through the crowd, but she really needed her suitcase. She was about to tell Ron she was going back for it when she noticed that Ron was already carrying it for her. _It really clashes with his hair…_

"So I hear there's a hot, new witch at Hogwarts this year," said someone behind Evee.

Huh? Evee was compelled to listen in on their conversation; She was a "hot, new witch" after all. _More hot than witch, if I do say so myself…_ thought Evee smugly.

"Really?" asked a second voice.

Evee snuck a peek over her shoulder while pretending to adjust her collar. There were three boys behind her. One was short with really pale eyes and blonder-than-blonde hair that hung in his eyes almost deliberately. The other two were obviously the first's bodyguards, as they seemed to stand on either side of him at all times. Both were huge and brutish. Their necks alone were as wide as Ginny's waist. One had a short, prickly buzz cut and the other looked as though his mother cut his hair using a pudding bowl for a stencil.

"What's she look like?" asked the boy with the buzz cut, whom Evee had unceremoniously re-named Porcupine-Head.

"I hear she's got a great set of knockers!" laughed Pudding-Head (as Evee now called him). He stuck his cupped hands out about a foot away from his chest and moved him up and down. The other boys snickered along with him.

Evee felt very self-conscious. Perhaps the really were talking about her.

"I hear she has a long, pointed nose and resembles a ferret quite accurately."

She snuck another look over her shoulder. Behind the boys, there now stood a pug-faced girl who was easily a whole head taller than Evee. _And ten times uglier, _Evee noted with satisfaction. It was the girl who had spoken.

The boys gave her dirty looks and she shrugged. "Just what I've heard…"

Finally the crowd thinned and Ron and Evee were able to exit the train. It felt nice being outside after being on a train for… Evee checked her watch… about eight hours. _I wonder what Aunt Gertrude's doing now,_ thought Evee. _Probably in her recliner eating bonbons, she's so happy I ran away… I ran away? Well, I suppose this constitutes as running away… _

"Nice bag, Weasley. Where's Potter? Did you two break up?"

Ron turned a violent shade of red and turned slowly. "Malfoy," he spat. Evee turned too. It was the blonde boy that she'd heard talking on the train. When he saw her with Ron, his expression was priceless. So Evee decided to milk it for all it was worth.

"The bag's mine." Evee slipped her hand into Ron's free one and laced her fingers through his. Ron looked shocked and Evee made a show of staring up at him lovingly. "I asked Ron to carry it for me."

Malfoy's smirk disappeared and was replaced with a smarmy smile. "I heard there was a new student this year. Draco Malfoy." He held out his hand for Evee to shake.

"I'm sure," Evee replied with a dismissive flick of her wrist. She turned and pulled Ron with her, leaving Malfoy standing on the platform, hand still outstretched as Ron and Evee walked away.

"Ooh, Draco! What a smooth operator you are!" squealed Pansy Parkinson sarcastically as she came up behind Malfoy. She had watched the exchange from afar and was thoroughly pleased Evee had snubbed Malfoy.

Malfoy shoved his hands in his pockets. "Shut up!" He gritted his teeth and merged with the crowd on the way to the carriages that would take them up to the school, Pansy following behind like a loyal dog.

Up ahead, Ron and Evee were still walking hand in hand. "That was bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Ron. "Malfoy's not used to being treated like that!"

"Thanks!" Evee swung her arm back and forth as they walked.

Ron looked down at their hands as if he'd only just realized they were touching. "He's not watching. You can let go now," he offered.

Evee smiled and stared straight ahead. "I know," she responded. But she didn't let go.

They saw the rest of their group a little ways off and broke into a run.

"Harry! Harry!" Ron called. Harry and the others turned around.

"There you… are?" Harry, as well as everyone else, had just noticed that Evee and Ron were holding hands. Harry smirked and looked like he was on the verge of saying, "Go Ron!" or something of that nature. Ginny's eyes widened and she hid a smile with a cough. Neville gave Ron a quick thumbs up and then patted Ginny on the back in an effort to help her stop coughing. Hermione's reaction, however, was quite unexpected. She bristled and almost gave Evee a dirty look, but caught herself just in time.

Evee dropped Ron's hand and acted like she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.

"You missed it!" Ron shouted. He then explained what happened with Malfoy in great detail, occasionally adding some details that didn't actually happen, not that Evee really cared.

Evee saw the only one not listening was Hermione. She was staring off into the distance. When she realized Evee was watching her, she snapped back to attention and gave Evee a very unconvincing smile that Evee returned half-heartedly.

_Next time I hold Ron's hand, I'll make sure no one sees… _Evee told herself. _That's if there _is _a next time… _Part of Evee really hoped there would be.


	7. The Hot New Guy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... I know everyone thought I did, but, alas, I don't. Sorry if I mislead you.**

**Author's Note: So I think this is the longest chapter thus far and sorry it took me a while to write it. I had a minor writer's block and lack of enthusiasm for the whole thing. (Not only that, I'm trying to re-read all 6 Harry Potter boos before the 7th comes out... and I'm halfway through the 4th... urgh.) THANKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO REVIEWED!!!!!**

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"Come on, then! Firs' years! This way!" 

A large, hairy man in a matted fur coat lumbered into Evee's sight. She gasped and ducked behind Harry. "What _is_ he?" she wondered aloud.

"Hagrid," Harry answered (even though Evee hadn't intended on anyone hearing the question).

"What's a Hagrid?"

"Oy! Hagrid!" Ron put his fingers in this mouth and whistled (_I wish I could do that, _Evee complained silently.). "Over here!"

The man turned his shaggy head to Ron, then waved and began to make his way over to them. His mere presence made the crowd part and clear a path for him.

"Why did you call him over here?" Evee asked Ron, clutching the sleeve of Harry's robe.

"Relax," Harry assured her. "He's totally harmless." He pried her hand off his robe with some difficulty.

"Ron!" the man had reached their group and was standing before them, hands on hips and grinning from ear to ear. He clapped Ron on the back so hard, he almost fell over. (Neville actually did fall over when the giant repeated the procedure with him.) "Harry, M'boy!" He shook Harry's hand vigorously.

"Hagrid," Harry responded.

"Ladies." Hagrid tipped an imaginary hat to Ginny and Hermione, who giggled in return.

Then he got to Evee. "And jus' who is his?"

Evee straightened up and did her best to look Hagrid in the eye (which was hard for her to do, given the massive height difference). "Evelyn Collins, but everyone calls me Evee." She thrust her hand forward and forced herself not to think of all the bones that'd be broken after Hagrid was through with her. (A/N: Oooh. That last sentence sounded kinda dirty…)

Hagrid took Evee's hand and yanked her into a bear hug, barely giving her time to look surprised. She felt her back pop and Hagrid let go. Evee did her best to turn her grimace of pain into a smile.

"Nice ter meet yeh," Hagrid grunted.

"Uh huh." Evee tried to sound genuinely pleased.

"Well, got ter get the firs' years across the lake." He turned to leave. "See yeh at the feast!" And then he was gone.

Evee watched him go, then slumped against Ginny's back and let out a sigh of relief. "That hurt." She rubbed her cheek. "I think his beard gave me friction burn…"

"He means well," reasoned Hermione. "He just doesn't know his own strength sometimes." The others nodded in agreement.

They started to walk away, leaving Evee standing on the platform rubbing her sore cheek absentmindedly. _"He reminds me of that giant in that book. The 'BFG'… except instead of 'Big _Friendly _Giant', he should be the 'Big _Furry _Giant'…"_

"Are you coming or are you just gonna stand there like a loon?"

"Huh?" Evee quickly put her hand that had been resting on her cheek in her pocket and turned around.

Ron was giving Evee a confused look and holding out her suitcase for her. Evee ran to him and grabbed it. "Thanks," she mumbled. Ron continued to walk and Evee fell into step behind him. It must have looked strange with her following him so closely, but Evee was beginning to think that nothing looked strange in this place.

Suddenly, Ron stopped, causing Evee, who was immersed in thought, to step on the back of his shoes and ram her nose into his head. Ron turned around swiftly and Evee dropped her suitcase and clutched her nose.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Ron put one of his hands over her hands and the other on the back of his head.

Evee swatted his hand away, looking around warily to see if Hermione was anywhere in sight. "No worries." Evee removed her hands and inspected her fingers. "No blood."

"Will you hurry up already?" Just behind Ron, Evee could see Neville's round face poking out from the door of a horseless carriage. "We could have eaten three times by now!" he shouted.

"Yeah! Get your ass in here, Weasley!" came a second voice Evee didn't recognize, but she did detect a hint of an Irish accent.

Ron smiled and shrugged. "That's our ride."

"No way!" Evee shoved him over so she could get a better look. "No way!" she repeated. Evee walked open-mouthed to the front of the carriage. "There're no horses! How does it move?"

The driver, who's face looked like raw hamburger meat to Evee, grunted and glared maliciously at her. Ron gave her one of his famous "Oh, You Poor, Silly Muggle Girl" looks and pulled her out of the vicious eye of the driver and into the cab.

Evee was pushed down roughly as the carriage lurched forward. Once again, Evee was seated between Harry and Ron. Both Hermione and Ginny kept looking at her like they'd gladly take her place anytime. Ginny and Neville were sitting side-by-side, fingers interlocked. Hermione sat opposite Ron. She was staring out the window into the night and a boy (_a rather _good _looking boy,_ thought Evee) was stroking her hair and whispering in her ear. Wait. What? Evee strained her ears to listen to what he was saying.

"So that's why I couldn't sit with you on the train," the boy whispered. "Please don't be angry."

Hermione turned to him and folded her arms. "You expect me to believe that you didn't sit with me because you had to finish your homework? That was assigned three months ago?"

The boy bit his lip. "Yeah."

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to the window.

"I didn't want to bother you!" He caressed her cheek. "Please? Don't be mad?" Then he put on this mock sad face that almost made Evee forgive him (even though he wasn't even talking to her and technically, she wasn't supposed to be listening). His eyes widened and his lower lip protruded and began to quiver. Evee didn't see how Hermione was impervious to his charm.

But as Evee soon saw, even Hermione had her weaknesses. The boy pulled a white rose out of his robe front. Hermione turned to him slowly and took the flower. As soon as she touched it, the rose turned a beautiful shade of dark red, then hot pink. Evee saw Hermione blush, then fling her arms around the boy.

Evee felt Ron shift in his seat next to her. His head was lolling around and banging on the small window at each bump in the road. His eyes were shut, but by his expression every time his head hit the glass, Evee could tell he was faking. _"Why would he pretend to be asleep?"_ Evee wondered. But she didn't really have time to ponder Ron's motives: the Hot New Guy (as he was now referred to in Evee's mind) was staring at her!

"_Why is it that every time a hot guy looks at me, my hands start to sweat?"_ Evee complained inwardly. "Hey." She was attempting to just play it cool and not fail miserably (_like every other time…_ she thought sadly) Evee nodded her head a little and leaned back, arms folded, legs crossed. "What's your name (_hot stuff_, she added in her head)?"

The Hot New Guy leaned forward, seemingly amused. "Seamus Finnigan."

"Evee."

"Short for Evelyn." Apparently, Evee was correct in her assumption that Ron was not, in fact, asleep.

Evee elbowed him hard in his side and shoved her hand towards Seamus. "Just Evee." She smiled and shook Seamus's hand while simultaneously casting Ron a series of dirty looks.

"Nice to meet you." Seamus smiled (Evee melted) and went back to petting Hermione who was twirling the rose back and forth between her fingers.

"It's beautiful," Evee heard Hermione murmur.

"It changes color with your mood, you know," Seamus informed her.

Hermione smiled and as she did so, the rose turned fluorescent yellow. Seamus leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Hermione nestled her head into his chest and he ran his fingers through her hair. But it seemed like, and Evee might just have been imagining this, but it seemed like Seamus's thoughts weren't on Hermione at that moment. In fact, Evee was almost positive he was staring at her out of the corner of his eye.

Evee was so transfixed by Seamus's behavior that she didn't even realize that they had stopped until the others had started to stand and get out of the carriage. Evee stood too and managed to bump her head on the ceiling and Seamus's head all at the same time. "My bad," she said breathlessly.

Seamus laughed and gestured to the door. "After you, M'lady."

Evee turned away from him before he could see her blush. She was too deep into her "cool chick" façade to blow it now. "Thank you, kind sir." She hopped down, skipping the steps that had appeared at the door, and landed semi-gracefully on a cobblestone road. Evee curtsied slightly to the now exiting Seamus. She turned and began to walk away. This was going well so far…

"Forgot your bag!" called a surly voice.

"Huh?" Evee whirled around and as she did, her suitcase was heaved at her. It hit her square in the stomach and with an audible "Oof!" Evee hit the ground; butt first in a puddle of suspiciously brown water.

Three hands were shoved in her face all at once and someone pulled the suitcase off her. Evee blinked a few times and let her eyes focus. Hermione and Ginny were kneeling on either side of her, Neville, who was standing behind Ginny, seemed to be torn between his concern for his new friend and his urge to look down Ginny's shirt, which was gaping open beneath her robe. The hands belonged to Seamus, Ron, and Harry.

Evee pushed herself up on to her elbows _"Well, so much for looking cool…" _"I'm okay." Her voice was slurred and sounded kind of far away. Evee randomly selected one of the hands and was hoisted to her feet. The hand, Evee discovered, belonged to Harry.

Once she was steady, Evee tried to wriggle out of Harry's grasp, but he wouldn't let go.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

Evee gave an irritated snort. "I'm fine! Just let me go!" She finally managed to loosen his grip and bent down to pick up her suitcase. Hermione linked her arm in Evee's and led her to a set of enormous doors with students pouring in from every direction.

"So this is Hogwarts?" Evee's question was formed more like a statement than an actual question, so it was a few seconds before anyone said anything.

"Yep," Ron answered. "In all its glory."

Evee took a deep breath and looked at the others. "Well what are we waiting for?"


	8. Part two: Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... (But I wish I owned Ron... hehehehehe)**

**Author's Note: Wow. I got 5 reviews within an hour of posting the last chapter... let's try for 6?**

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"Is there an Evelyn Collins present?" Evee couldn't see who was talking through all the students, but from the speaker's tone of voice, Evee could tell she was very angry. 

The room became silent. Evee had just walked through the door and already she was in trouble? Unbelievable! She hadn't done anything wrong… well she did kinda-sorta sneak onto the Hogwarts Express…

"Here!" Evee cried shrilly. The students turned to see where her voice had come from. Surely Evee wasn't _that _interesting… Was she?

"Come forward. NOW!"

A feverish whisper rustled through the room as Evee made her way blindly towards the voice. "'Scuse me. Pardon me!" Evee said as she pushed people out of her way. Why they just weren't moving was beyond her. "Out. Of. My. WAY!" Evee finally pushed through the front line of people and found herself face-to-face with a very severe looking woman. Square spectacles, tight bun, neatly pressed robes. _"This must be Professor McGonagall,"_ thought Evee.

"Evelyn Collins?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes." Evee nodded and then added, "Ma'am." From what Ron had told her, it never did anyone any good to be cheeky to Professor McGonagall.

McGonagall's expression seemed to soften once she saw Evee. "Students," she addressed the rest of the room. "The sorting will begin shortly. Please enter the Great Hall and wait patiently."

There were a few grumbles and complaints of "But I'm starving!" but slowly, the entrance hall began to empty and soon the only ones left were Harry, Ron, Evee, and Professor McGonagall.

"Professor!" Ron called. "Evee shouldn't be in trouble. It's my fault!"

"It was his fault. I saw it," interjected Harry.

Ron shot him a dirty look and then continued pleading. "I swear! It wasn't her fault."

"And just what do you think wasn't her fault, Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall snapped.

Ron made a puzzled face. "Being… here?" he guessed with a gesture towards the floor.

"On the contrary. Miss Collins is exactly where she needs to be."

"Huh?" said Ron and Harry simultaneously, looking at each other.

"What?" said Evee, now staring at the Professor even more intently than she was before.

"Do as you're told and wait in the Great Hall," McGonagall ordered.

"But, Professor-" Harry began to argue.

"OUT!" She pointed sternly to another set of doors through which sat all of the other students, talking quickly in hushed voices.

Ron and Harry gave Evee worried glances then went to join their classmates. The doors slammed shut behind them, blocking out the sound behind them.

"Come with me." McGonagall turned and began to climb a marble staircase that Evee had just noticed was there.

"Um… Professor?"

McGonagall stopped. "Yes, Miss Collins?"

"Why…" Evee couldn't seem to form a proper question and she ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

"All your questions will be answered in due time. Now if you'll follow me to my office, we can sort this all out."

"O-okay," Evee stammered. McGonagall continued to walk and Evee followed her cautiously.

Ron had forewarned Evee about all the moving staircases and the living portraits, but he had neglected to mention the ghosts. Evee nearly wet herself when she accidentally walked through one who appeared to be covered in silver paint.

"The Bloody Baron," McGonagall said without turning.

Evee shivered. "Bloody?"

"You didn't see the blood stains?"

"_Oh,"_ Evee thought. _"Not paint. Blood."_ "Of course," she answered.

They suddenly stopped at a door that swung open with a tap of McGonagall's wand. She stepped aside and let Evee enter before her.

The room was large and tidy. A warm fire sizzled in the hearth behind a desk covered in neat piles of paper. There was a grand window with heavy red drapes tied back with golden tasseled ropes. Bookcases covered each wall and books were stacked on them at least three deep on each shelf. Evee studied he books closest to her. "The Five Fundamental Functions of Fungi" must have been about 1000 pages. Evee never imagined mushrooms were good for anything except eating on your salads.

"Sit, Miss Collins."

Evee turned and saw McGonagall sitting behind her desk, her hands folded. Evee nodded and went to sit down in a chair opposite her. Now it _really _felt like she was in trouble.

"Now. Where should we begin?"

Evee looked her in the eye for the first time. "The beginning is always a good place."

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**I know this chapter was a bit short, but I was asked to clear something up. "Evee" is pronounced like "Ee-vee" or "E.V." if that makes more sense to you. And many thanks to my most loyal reviewers!!!**

wannariskit

Flipflopper333

Melanie Potter

EccentricSlide


	9. Hermione Snaps and Evee Argues

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**WARNING: THERE ARE SOME MILD SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY READ THE 6TH BOOK. (But if you haven't read the 6th book yet, why are you reading this? That one's so much better lol.)**

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Ron and Harry sat down glumly at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall as the doors shut behind them. 

"What happened?" Hermione started as soon as they were seated opposite her (Harry next to Ginny and Ron next to him). She shook her head. "Ooh! I knew this was a bad idea. We shouldn't have let her on the train."

"So what? We should have just left her on the platform 'till she rotted?" Ron asked her. "Lot of good that would have done."

Hermione shook her head again. "We should have at _least _sent Hedwig ahead to warn Professor McGonagall. Not to mention the numerous _other_ things that could have been done!" Hermione had practically panicked her self into frenzy by this point.

"Well, I didn't see _you_ jumping up at the time!"

She opened her mouth to argue some more, but was quieted when Seamus began rubbing her back. "Calm down… You're so high strung…"

"I am NOT! Hermione yelled at Seamus.

Ron didn't get a chance to hear what she said next. Harry took the opportunity to lean over and whisper in Ron's ear, "We need to talk. Somewhere more… private."

"What? Now?" Ron whispered back, looking from Harry to Hermione (who was now shrieking, "I am perfectly fine!") then back to Harry.

Harry nodded and jerked his head back to the doors they had just come through minutes before.

Luckily for them, no one seemed to notice they were leaving on account of Hermione was now gesturing to Seamus's head violently with a lit candlestick and Seamus was taking it rather well, considering the flame was dangerously close to setting his hair on fire and dried wax was hanging off his ear. Neville, however, was on the verge of cowering under the table and Ginny rolled her eyes at him and magicked her self a glass of water which she sipped at, wondering sarcastically what she ever did to deserve such a wonderful group of friends.

Once outside, Harry looked around and pulled Ron into a dark broom closet, much to Ron's protest.

"What? What is so bloody important that you had to drag me in here? I really wanted to see Hermione explode!" Ron complained loudly.

Harry shushed him and began explaining. "You remember on the train? When Evee touched my scar?"

"Yes, yes," Ron whispered impatiently. "And you threw a hissy fit."

Harry ignored Ron's comment and continued. "It _burned _Ron! My scar _burned_ when she touched it!"

Ron was speechless. Finally, he was able to squeeze out, "What?"

"You heard me!"

"Well what do you mean by 'burned'? Do you mean 'burned' like 'it just hurt for some bizarre reason' or 'burned' like-"

"Like it does when Voldemort's near," Harry finished.

Ron cringed at the sound of Voldemort's name but he tried to laugh. "But Evee… She couldn't really… Could she?"

Harry shook his head and inspected a crate of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover. Filch always kept a large supply of the stuff on hand in case of a magical mishap (which there were plenty of at Hogwarts).

There was a great boom from outside and Harry and Ron pressed their ears against the wooden closet door.

"Come on then! Through that door there."

"Hagrid," Harry whispered. "The Sorting must be about to start."

"We should probably get back then," Ron suggested.

Harry shrugged in agreement and the two waited until they heard the scurrying footsteps of the new first year students disappear and the doors shut behind them.

Ron opened the closet door a crack and made sure the coast was clear. He nodded resolutely to Harry and opened the door wider.

Harry caught Ron by the back of his robe and pulled him back in the closet causing Ron to slam the door shut in the process. "Not a word to anyone." He could see Ron was about to argue, so he cut him off. "Not even Hermione."

"Okay! Now let me go!" Harry released Ron who straightened his robes with care. He opened the door again and they exited the closet, casting paranoid looks over their shoulders and slipped into the Great Hall.

"Be a shame to miss the last sorting of our years at Hogwarts," Ron reasoned as they sat back down where they had been seated before.

Hermione seemed to have calmed down and was feigning interest in Ginny and Lavender Brown's enlightening conversation about lip-gloss and which tint matched their skin tone the best.

She launched into another tirade as soon as she saw Harry and Ron. "Where were you? If a teacher had seen you-"

"Shhh!" Ron held a finger up to his mouth. "The Sorting's begun."

Hermione looked slightly offended Ron had cut her off and glared at him all through the Sorting Hat's song (which Ron couldn't pay attention to because he was too busy trying to ignore Hermione's stare).

The next thing Ron knew everyone was clapping and Harry was telling him excitedly, "That was the best song yet. Really pulled out all the stops on this one, didn't he?"

"Uh huh," Ron answered distractedly. Hermione was no longer glaring at him, but Ron could tell she was still angry they hadn't let her in on their secret meeting in the broom closet.

"Adams, Rachel!" read Professor Sprout.

"Looks like McGonagall's still with Evee," commented Harry. Professor McGonagall almost always announced the Sorting unless she had another pressing matter to attend to.

As a short girl with straight, brown hair pulled back neatly into two pigtails skipped up to the front of the room and had the Sorting Hat placed on her head (HUFFLEPUFF!), Ron surveyed the staff table.

Dumbledore was gone. McGonagall was acting Headmistress until the Ministry found a suitable replacement (which didn't look like they would any time in the near future). Further on down the line, Snape was gone too, naturally. Ron supposed he'd run off to re-join You-Know-Who after a long hiatus from evil. Ron snorted. The very thought of Snape taking a "hiatus from evil" was absurd. Ron could tell he was evil just by looking at him and anyone who was in his class (with the exception of the Slytherins) would agree.

There were two new teachers: Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. The Dark Arts teacher was a smarmy looking man with blonde, short hair, a thin moustache, and round spectacles. The Potions teacher was a petite Asian witch with long, black hair, and had the most beautiful dark purple, silk robes embroidered with tiny golden dragons that actually moved. She smiled warmly as "Bodkin, Gertrude" became a Slytherin. She was the Slytherin head teacher, after all.

Ron snapped back to attention when the table erupted into cheers as "Brody, Daniel" became the first Gryffindor. Harry whistled loudly in Ron's ear.

"Brooks, Samantha" became a Ravenclaw and "Bryce, Kalyn" was added to the Gryffindor ranks.

"Collins, Evelyn!"

The room became silent. All eyes went to the doors where a scattered looking Evee was standing. She staggered her way down he aisle between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables, all eyes following her. Some of the first years snickered. Surely this was a joke. She was too old to be a first year. But they were quieted with a venomous glance from Evee. And finally, she sat on the stool at the front of the room, legs crossed, shaking hands folded primly over her knees.

Professor Sprout looked bewildered and consulted her list once more, then turned back to Evee, mouth agape. Evee half-smiled and said, "Professor McGonagall sent me down here to be... sorted?"

"Um… Yes. Of course." Sprout blinked rapidly and dropped the Sorting Hat on Evee's head. Everyone leaned forward expectantly and some of the shorter students even stood on their seats to get a better look.

The slit in the Sorting Hat that served as its mouth slowly opened. "Hmm…"

Evee sighed.

"Hmm…" the Sorting Hat said again. "Yes. I see you doing great things… in Slytherin. Yes…"

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth and Ron and Harry exchanged anxious looks.

"Make it Slytherin then!" the Hat shouted.

The Slytherin table cheered (the boys louder than the girls) and Malfoy could clearly be heard cat-calling over all the other voices. Ron, Harry, and the rest of their friends hung their heads. This was much worse than being punished by McGonagall.

But instead of standing and going to sit at the Slytherin table, Evee remained seated. "No."

There was a sharp intake of breath that rippled around the room. No one had ever argued with the Sorting Hat before.

"What was that?" the Hat asked Evee.

"I said 'no'. I'm not going to be a… Slytherin," she spat.

The Slytherins started yelling all at once, shouting obscenities and making rude gestures at Evee.

"SILENCE!" the Sorting Hat roared. The room was calm once more. "Now you say no to Slytherin, eh? Well, well. That shows courage… courage and bravery… How would Gryffindor suit you?"

"Just fine, thank you," replied Evee gratefully.

"Gryffindor it is!"

Evee grinned and went to sit down between Harry and Ron amid cheers from their table and hisses from the Slytherins. She looked happily from one person to the next as Hermione stood and hugged her across the table. _"This is where I belong," _she thought.


	10. Trunk Full of Secrets

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Author's Note: If you've read the story before now, you may have noticed an extra author's note chapter. I removed it because I got all the feedback I needed from the poll, so thanks!!! And I'm also thinking of changing the title. The only reason the title is what it is, is beacuse I couldn't think of a better one. Any suggestions???**

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"Jabberwocky," Ron told the Fat Lady at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

She swung open soundlessly and Evee was dragged inside by Ginny, followed by the others.

"Wow," Evee whispered to herself. The Gryffindor common room was spectacularly grand. High ceilings, blazing fire, comfy chairs and numerous couches and tables. Not to mention there was a spiral staircase, meaning there must be an upstairs too.

Evee flopped down on a couch before the fire. "I'm tired." She put her arm over her eyes to shield them from the light cast by the fire.

"Now hold on," ordered Ron as he sat down heavily next to her. "What happened with McGonagall?"

"Yeah." Ginny sat cross-legged on the floor before Evee. "Did you get detention?"

Evee removed her arm from her face. "No," she answered simply. "We had to go over my… erm… schedule."

"Oh," said Ron flatly. Obviously he'd been hoping it was something much more exciting than that.

"Yep. McGonagall is placing me in the remedial classes. She wants to make sure I'm not a… squip?"

"Squib," Harry corrected.

Evee ignored him and continued. "But I can't be _all _muggle. You said so yourself, Harry. I got through the barrier at King's Cross Station."

"Well now-" Harry began.

"If I choose to stay and I'm able to, I'll have to work my way up to your level." Evee eyed Hermione. "Well, more like to Ron's level. You seem to be on a plane of your own here." Hermione didn't know whether to be flattered or mad. It seemed like a backhanded compliment, so she just let it pass. Ron, on the other hand, opened his mouth to say something back to Evee, but he was interrupted by Ginny.

"You are going to stay, aren't you?"

Evee sighed. "It's loads better than staying with my aunt…" She stared out the window at the blinking stars. "Seriously. I'm tired." Evee turned to Hermione. "Could you show me where the rooms are?"

Hermione nodded. "I was thinking of retiring for the night myself." The two bid the others goodnight and Hermione led the way up the spiral staircase to the dormitories. She stopped at a door marked "7th Year Girls' Dormitories" and said airily, "Here we are." Hermione pushed the door open and stepped through, Evee close behind.

There were four beds with red curtains drawn back to reveal mountains of pillows and lush, red comforters. Evee whistled. "Fancy…"

Hermione sat down on the bed closest to the door and began to remove her shoes. "Um. That bed"- she pointed to the bed in the far corner-"is Lavender Brown's, and the one next to it is Parvati Patil's. And I suppose the one next to mine is yours…" She bent down and shoved her shoes under her bed.

"Yeah. There's my suitcase." And sure enough, Evee's pink suitcase was resting on the bed Hermione had indicated. Evee jumped up on her bed, knees folded beneath her. She kicked off her tennis shoes, not nearly as neat with them as Hermione had been with her shoes.

Hermione went to a trunk that sat at the foot of her bed and opened it. She pulled out a toiletry bag and from it, pulled out another, smaller bag, which, Evee soon discovered, contained a toothbrush, tooth paste, and a small box of dental floss. She couldn't help but to laugh a little at Hermione.

"What's so funny?" Hermione asked her.

"I just never actually knew anyone who had a separate bag for their dental hygiene products. I just throw everything in one place and go."

Hermione laughed a little too and looked at the bag, kind of embarrassed. "Yeah, well. My parents are dentists."

"Ah! That would explain it then," replied Evee. "Which reminds me…" She unzipped the front pocket of her suitcase and rummaged around, obviously looking for something. Hermione looked on curiously. "Here it is!" Evee's hand emerged from the pocket holding a tiny blue box triumphantly. She popped it open and took out a clear, plastic retainer, which she set in her mouth and clicked into place with her tongue. "Can't forget this," Evee said with a mild lisp and rolling her eyes.

Hermione smiled and excused herself to go take a bath.

Evee watched her go and then looked back down at her suitcase. "I guess I'm staying, then," she mumbled.

She unpacked the remainder of her belongings from the front pocket (her small bag of toiletries and make-up, her hairbrush, her reading book, and a photo of Evee and her mother on holiday in Italy when Evee was 11) and placed them on her bedside table. Then she moved on to her clothes in the main part of her bag.

Once Evee had pulled everything out and splayed it across her bed, she realized how little she really had. Besides, the items she was wearing, Evee only had one other pair of shoes, 12 pairs of assorted undergarments, 3 pairs of jeans, a horrible, black dress Evee's mum had forced her to get a few months back, 1 pair of shorts, her only pair of pajamas (flannel pants and a white tank-top), and 2 hooded sweatshirts, both supporting the West Ham football team.

Evee saw there was a trunk at the foot of her bed identical to Hermione's. She stood and gathered her clothes into a messy bundle and made her way to it, carefully navigating her way around her carelessly placed shoes.

She opened the top of the trunk, prepared to just dump her clothes and shut it again, but she saw something that made her stop. Evee threw the clothes back on her bed and dropped to her knees beside the trunk.

Inside, were books. Spell books. Evee grabbed the first one off the top. "Beginning Book of Spells for Extreme Beginners…" she read aloud from the cover. "Indeed!" She snorted and went on to the next one. "Advanced Transfiguration?" Evee looked at it skeptically. "Well, if McGonagall thinks I can…" Evee also found books on Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Muggle Studies (which Evee thought would be an easy grade.)

Underneath the books was a black box with "Ollivander's" stamped in silver across the top. Evee opened it and gasped. "Bloody hell…" She turned the box over and shook out its contents. A long stick fell to the floor at her knees. No. Not a stick. "Bloody hell!" Evee said again. She picked up the wand and looked at it closely, trying to figure out which end she held and which end the magic came out of.

After much scrutiny, Evee shrugged and replaced the wand carefully back in its box, fastening the lid tightly.

Evee noticed one more thing in the trunk: her own set of Gryffindor robes. She squealed excitedly and held them up to her face, inhaling deeply. (Evee's mum always thought she was just being silly, but for some reason, Evee always liked to smell her new clothes before she wore them…)

She heard Hermione stirring in the next room, so she quickly re-packed the trunk and dropped her clothes in on top of the books in an effort to conceal them. She shut and locked the trunk, sticking the key in her pocket just as Hermione emerged from the bathroom with wet hair and wearing purple, silken pajamas with _HG_ embroidered on the pocket.

"The others aren't it yet?" she asked Evee.

Evee shook her head and stood. "Must still be downstairs."

Hermione shrugged and pulled back her sheets. "Early to bed, early to rise." Noticing Evee's dubious expression, she added, "I know it's cliché, but we do need to be rested for our first day of lessons tomorrow." She lay down and smoothed the sheets over herself. "Night."

"Night," Evee returned.


	11. Catherine's Story part one

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Author's Note: Make sure you've read the chapter before this one because I took out the author's note chapter and actually put in a real chapter. This chapter is mostly a flashback, btw...**

**And this is just part one of this chapter. I reeeally wanted to leave it at a cliffhanger! **

* * *

It was 4:30 in the morning and Evee still couldn't get to sleep. Hermione had been out as soon as her head hit the pillow and Parvati and Lavender had staggered in around 1:15 after a rather rowdy party in the common room. Their snores now surrounded Evee on all sides. She sat up and punched her pillow in frustration, then lay back down, staring at the ceiling. "It's no use," she mumbled. 

Evee threw off her comforter (she had long since forced the top sheet into a bunch at the foot of her bed due to her constant squirming) and swung her legs over onto the floor.

Their room was pitch black, except for a thin slice of moonlight seeping through the curtains at the window next to Lavender's bed. Evee stumbled her way to the door, stifling a yelp when she stubbed her toe on the edge of Hermione's trunk, which she silently cursed on her way out the room.

The common room was empty, but the fire was still burning warmly in the hearth. Evee scuttled down the stairs. She really wanted to slide down the banister, but something told her that that escapade would end with her lying in a broken heap at the foot of the stairs. So she contented herself with skipping every other step.

Evee's bare feet sank into the plush carpet at the end of the staircase. (_"Or the beginning of the staircase, depending on which direction you're going…"_ thought Evee.) She padded her way over to the fireplace and sat on a red chair before it, resting her head on one of its quite uncomfortable arms and staring into the fire. She realized she was very sleepy, but what Professor McGonagall had told her before the Sorting weighed too heavily on her mind for her to succumb to sleep so easily.

"_Now. Where should we begin?"_

"_The beginning is always a good place," Evee told her reasonably._

_Professor McGonagall inclined her head as if to get a better look at Evee. "Very well." She cleared her throat. "Your mother is Catherine Collins, correct?"_

_Evee looked down at her hands. "She was. She's dead now."_

_McGonagall looked a little taken aback. "This is not good…" she mumbled to herself. Evee didn't think it was meant to be a consolation so she remained quiet, waiting for McGonagall to finish._

"_Did your mother tell you she was a witch?" McGonagall asked suddenly. "She went to school here."_

_Evee almost fell out of her chair. "What?" She shook her head. "No that's impossible. My mother is-was not a witch!"_

"_I feared this." McGonagall took on a softer, more understanding expression. "Your mother _was_ a witch, Miss Collins. She came from a family of purebloods. Direct descendant of one of the founders of this very school. She was by far one of my best students. And also a very talented Animagus."_

"_Ani-whatsits?" Evee stammered, still in utter disbelief._

"_Animagus. Your mother was one of the few who could transform into an animal."_

"_No. I don't believe you!" Evee practically shrieked. She stood and pointed at McGonagall, emphasizing each word. "I think everyone in this place-you especially-is off their rockers!" _

_Suddenly, there was a loud pop and Evee surprised by the noise, jumped backwards and fell over her chair. She pulled herself up, using McGonagall's desk as leverage and found herself face-to-face with a brown tabby cat, sitting on the Professor's desk._

"_What?" Evee yelled. She stood and looked behind the desk, cautiously; afraid something was going to pop out at her. "Professor?" she called timidly. McGonagall wasn't behind the desk. "Professor?" Evee turned around in a circle and once again, her eyes fell on the cat that was now staring at Evee calmly with its big, orange eyes._

_There was another pop and Professor McGonagall was once again seated behind her desk and the cat was gone. Evee was smart enough to put two and two together._

"_I think I need to have a lie down," Evee gasped as she sat back down in the chair opposite the Professor._

_McGonagall continued as if nothing had happened. "I suspect you might be able to do it too. The ability to learn often runs in families, but it takes a lot of work to perfect it."_

"_I think I need to throw-up!"_

_With a wave of McGonagall's wand, a bucket appeared on her desk, which Evee grabbed gratefully and hugged it between her thighs._

"_Now about your schedule…"_

"_You mean I'm staying?" Evee asked, her hopes rising and her nausea subsiding a bit.  
_

_McGonagall looked shocked. "Well of course. We need to keep you under our watchful eye. Wouldn't want you to run off like your mother, and disappear without a trace."_

"_Run off?"_

_But McGonagall wasn't saying anything else on the matter. "We need to get your courses settled for the year."_

_She began talking about all the options Evee had, but Evee wasn't paying attention. Her mind was on her mother. Her mother the witch who could turn into animals and ran off and disappeared and never told Evee about any of this. Evee couldn't help but feel a little angry with her mum. So she decided she didn't want to be like her mother, which contradicted every thought Evee had had about her from the time Evee was old enough to remember thinking._

"…_so you'll be in the… magically challenged classes until we see some improvement. And you and I will have private Transfiguration lessons here in my office every day after dinner. Try not to tell any one, especially Potter. He means well, but he's awfully nosy."_

"_Why can't I tell?" Evee found the whole ordeal a bit sketchy._

_McGonagall leaned in closer, and instinctively, Evee did the same. "I'm not supposed to be teaching you how to become an Animagi. It's… not in my job description, one could say." She gave Evee a sly smile.  
_

_Evee wanted to ask her why she was helping her if it was against the rules, but she just kept her mouth shut and nodded as if in understanding. McGonagall handed her a small slip of parchment with a teacher's name and room number. "Report there tomorrow," McGonagall ordered, her stern self once more._

_Evee stood and took the paper._

"_Leave your luggage here," (which Evee had forgotten she still had in her possession) "and go back downstairs to the Great Hall. Tell Professor Sprout you need to be Sorted." She said like Evee knew who Professor Sprout was._

_Evee made her way to the door, but then turned back to ask one final question. "Which house was my mum in?"_

_Professor McGonagall answered without looking up from the papers on her desk. "Slytherin."_

* * *

**Part Two of this chapter coming** **soon!!! Remember to REVIEW!!!**_  
_


	12. Catherine's Story part two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**.

**Author's Note: This chapter and the chapter before it are really like one chapter that I separated to make more sense to the reader. Did that make sense?**

* * *

"Slytherin… My own mother had been a Slytherin…" 

That was Evee's last waking thought before she drifted off into an uneasy sleep…

"_Wake up! Evee, please wake up!"_

_Evee was shaken to her senses and opened her eyes to see her mother's frantic face. "Mum? What's going on?" Evee's voice was slurred from sleep._

_Catherine hoisted Evee out of bed by her shoulders and shook her again. "Listen to me!" Evee saw there was tears rolling silently down her mother's face._

"_Mum?"_

"_Hurry! Get in the crawlspace!" She pushed Evee forward towards the door that led out of Evee's bedroom and into the hall._

_Evee had now caught wind of her mother's panic and sense of urgency. She turned and grabbed Catherine's shoulders, shaking her instead. "Mum! What's wrong?"_

_The house became deathly quiet. The wind outside, that until that moment had been howling fiercely, ceased blowing. No cars could be heard on the usually busy street outside their house._

_Catherine gave a small gasp. "He's here," she whispered._

"_Who?" Evee asked frantically._

_Her mother didn't answer. She just bent down and began lifting the floorboards up in the hallway, revealing a tiny, dirt-lined hole, barely large enough for two people to squeeze inside. Catherine pushed Evee towards the hole._

"_Who's here?" Evee screamed at her, hoping to get an answer this time._

"_Please… Go…" her mum pleaded, her eyes full of worry and tears._

_Evee looked at her mother and then obeyed, jumping down into the hole beneath the floor. Catherine hastily replaced the floorboards until the only light Evee had to see by was through a crack._

_There was a crash and subsequent boom like something large had torn through one of the brick walls of their small house. Evee heard her mother take a step backwards over Evee's hiding place, as if to protect her from whomever was coming._

_The stench of rotting flesh wafted its way to Evee and she covered her nose in disgust._

"_Evee…" a man whispered feebly._

"_She's not here!" Catherine shouted. She sounded stronger, somehow, to Evee. Like she'd stopped crying. Evee pressed her eyes to the crack, but all she could see was the underside of one of her mum's fuzzy slippers and the hem of a black piece of fabric._

"_Silly girl. You're willing to die for her?"_

_Catherine croaked, "Leave her alone!"_

_There was a rasping laugh that sounded like wind blowing over dried leaves. "_Avada Kedavra_!" said the person coldly._

_Evee saw and felt her mother's body fall to the floor. Evee bit her hand to stop herself from crying out and tears sprung to her eyes._

_Heavy footfalls moved above her and shoes blocked out the sliver of light through which Evee was looking. She scooted back further under the floor in an effort to be hidden better. It seemed to get even quieter, if possible. Evee held her breath and waited for the feet to move away._

_With an ear-splitting _CRACK_, the floorboards were splintered and thrown into the air where they hit some glasses in the kitchen, causing them to shatter. A gray, dead-looking hand with long, dirt encrusted fingernails reached down into the hole. Evee tried to move back farther, but there was nowhere left for her to go._

_The hand was reaching. Grasping for her. It took all of Evee's strength not to make a sound. She turned away and squeezed her eyes shut. The hand grabbed at her head, tangling its grimy fingers in her hair, and pulled hard._

_Evee let out a yelp and was dragged up and out from under the floor. She was held a foot off the ground, still by her hair, with her back to her assailant. She looked down to find her mother staring back up at her, glassy-eyed with a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of one of her eyes like a tear. Evee began to writhe in the man's grasp. "No!" she shrieked._

_She was swung back and hurled at the wall in front of her. Her head hit the hard bricks and all the air was forced from her lungs. Evee tried her best to stand, but she was dizzy and her vision was blurry._

"_What a waste," the man said, nudging Catherine's leg with the toe of his boot._

_Once again, Evee tried to stand, but found that she couldn't and collapsed back on the floor at the man's feet._

_He bent down so that his foul breath hung right in Evee's face like a cloud. "Your turn." He pulled his hand back. "_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" he roared as he arced his arm back towards her face. Evee saw something glinting in his hand. She assumed it was a knife._

_The only thing she could think of doing to protect herself was to throw her hands up in front of her face to lighten the blow. Evee felt a searing pain across the tips of all four fingers of her right hand._

_The house was filled with a scream so violent and terrible, Evee didn't even have the words to describe it. She leaned her head against the wall and shut her eyes, praying it would just stop._

_Next thing she knew, the man was gone and a fireman was carrying Evee away from her burning house._


	13. The Room of Requirement

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own the new characters I made up... So ha!**

* * *

"Evee... Evee, wake up." 

Evee was being shaken awake by a pair of strong hands. She jerked suddenly into a sitting position and in doing so, banged her forehead against her waker's.

"Is it me, or do you seem to injure yourself and others more often than necessary?"

"Seamus!" she gasped. "What are you… oh." Evee looked around. She had thought she was still in bed in her dormitory, but after a quick look about the room, she realized she was in the Gryffindor common room. Evee laughed sleepily and ran her fingers through her tangled hair and winced. The scars across her fingertips tingled with pain.

Seamus knelt down next to her. "What?"

Evee held her hand up to her face and flexed her fingers, the pain ebbing a bit. "Fine. Just an old cut. Hurts every once and a while."

He took her hand, palm up, in his own. "Right here?" he asked and ran his finger lightly across the slash mark.

She nodded and watched him trace the scar with his finger.

"How did you get it?"

"There was a fire… I don't really remember all that well."

Seamus nodded and stood. "We should probably be going to breakfast."

Evee was prepared for him to further inquire about her injury, so when he didn't, she froze. Seamus stared at her, waiting for a reply. "Breakfast?" he pointed to the portrait hole.

She looked around the room. "Um… yeah." Evee furrowed her brow.

Seamus seemed to understand her concern. "The others are all already there," he explained.

Nodding, Evee stood. "If you want to wait, I just need to change clothes and then we can go."

"By all means." He gestured to the staircase and sat in the chair Evee had just been occupying.

Evee turned, stretching and yawning, and hurried up to her room. Unlocking her trunk, Evee wondered why her hands were shaking. As she pulled off her pajamas and shimmied into a pair of jeans, she realized, "Well, it must be Seamus who's making me so nervous…" She took her notebook off her bedside table and jammed it down in her pocket. She had forgotten to take her watch off last night, so it was still clasped firmly around her wrist. After a peek out the window to check on the weather, Evee decided on a thick, white t-shirt that had "stop staring" printed on it in orange, which she threw her new robe over enthusiastically. "Why he makes me nervous, I don't know," she continued, inspecting her reflection. Evee had slept in her make-up the night before, so she just licked her thumb and made some touch ups to the places that had ran. "It's not like I like him… I mean, he's _Wormione's _boyfriend, for Gods sake!" Evee gave the mirror a wink and flounced back downstairs, pulling her hair up as she went.

"Ready?" Seamus asked her.

Evee nodded and he led her through the portrait hole and out into the hall, where the Fat Lady eyed them suspiciously. Evee couldn't help but wonder if she knew that Seamus was Hermione's boyfriend too.

* * *

No one stared at Evee as she walked in the Great Hall that morning, which she was grateful for. Evee wasn't fond of being gawked at like she was in a freak show. 

Evee and Seamus sat down at the Gryffindor table with the others (Evee, next to Ron, Ron next to Harry, Harry next to Ginny-Neville was nowhere in sight-and Seamus, in-between Hermione and a boy that was introduced to Evee as Dean Thomas.)

"What's your first class?" Hermione asked Evee, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

Evee took a bite of her scone. "I have no idea." She brushed a crumb off her chest. "You?"

Hermione consulted her schedule. "Arithmancy."

"History of Magic," Ron and Harry said at the same time, their tones of voice suggesting utter boredom with the class.

"Hm. Sounds like fun," Evee replied earnestly.

"Oh, Arithmancy is great fun! Why just last year we-" Hermione launched into a long-winded story of an essay she'd gotten a perfect score on in the class the previous year. Evee nodded in all the right places and continued eating. Ron and Harry didn't even pretend to listen. Ginny, Seamus, and Dean had long since abandoned the conversation, preferring instead to discuss a movie they had all seen over the summer holidays.

A loud screech was heard overhead and Ron stated nonchalantly, "Mail's here." Evee looked up to the ceiling, which Hermione had explained to her the night before was enchanted to match the sky outside. Owls were swooping down on the tables from every window.

Evee was pleased to see Hedwig zoom down and plop a newspaper onto Harry's plate. She perched on his shoulder and Evee scratched her head lovingly. Hedwig hooted appreciatively and took a quick drink from Harry's goblet before flying off again, "Back to the owlry," Ron informed her.

Evee checked her watch. 7:50. "I have to go." She stuffed the last bit of scone in her mouth and stood. "See you at lunch?"

The others nodded and went back to eating, or in Hermione's case, continued ranting about Arithmancy.

Once out of the Great Hall, Evee took the stairs up to the next floor. She stopped and searched her pocket for the piece of paper McGonagall had given her. She found it and re-read what was written on it.

_Professor Baggis_

_Room of Requirement 8:05_

It was a bit smudged from Evee's sweaty hands holding it, but it was still legible. And it still definitely said "Room of Requirement". What kind of room that was, Evee didn't know and she had forgotten to ask if anyone knew where it was during breakfast. She shoved the paper back in her pocket and hurried back up to the Gryffindor tower to get her books.

"Uh… Jabberwocky?" Evee asked the Fat Lady. She was kind of surprised she'd found the entrance all by herself and remembered the password too.

"Oh, Deary! You must be the new student the whole school is buzzing about!" The Fat Lady smiled. Evee got the impression that if she could, the Fat Lady would be pinching her cheeks right now.

"I… guess so…" Evee smiled back, feeling pretty ridiculous that she was actually carrying on a conversation with a painting. Evee checked her watch again. 7:57. "I need to get to class, so, Jabberwocky."

"Of course, of course! Keep your knickers on!" She swung open and Evee hopped inside, nearly tripping on the hem of her robe and falling flat on her face. She righted herself and ran up the stairs to her dormitory.

By the time she reached the door, a headache was already starting to make itself known. Evee rubbed her temples and knelt down beside her trunk, unlocking it one-handed. She grabbed the first book off the top ("The Beginning Book of Spells for Extreme Beginners") and her wand. "Just for god measure…" Evee dropped the wand in an inside pocket of her robe she had found at breakfast and relocked the trunk.

One minute later, Evee was bounding out of the portrait hole and down the hall, ricocheting off of people and walls. She only had seven minutes to find this "Room of Requirement" otherwise; she'd be late to class.

As it turned out, Evee was late to class. At 8:20, an exasperated Evee, after pacing back and forth across the 7th floor hallway, collapsed and exclaimed, "Dammit! I just want to get to class!" (which is something she never would have thought she'd hear herself say.)

"Here."

Evee removed her head from her hands. "What?"

"Right here."

It was a small girl who had spoken. She couldn't have been any younger than 15, but she was exceedingly tiny, almost frail looking. Her hair was practically white and she had it pulled over so it cascaded down one shoulder and covered half her face. Her eyes were icy blue. Evee was instantly reminded of…

"That jerk from the train!"

The girl took a step back. "Excuse me?" she asked timidly.

"Nothing," Evee corrected herself. "Do you know where the Room of Requirement is?"

"Here." The girls stepped aside to reveal a door. "It only appears if you walk back and forth in front of this section of wall three times and think about what you need."

"Oh." Evee stood and brushed off her robes. "Well I guess that makes perfect sense," she said sarcastically.

The girl smiled and opened the door, giving Evee the first glimpse of the next few weeks of her life.


	14. Exploding Feathers and Disappointments

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, dammit!  
**

* * *

Professor Baggis was a short, balding wizard who always insisted upon wearing puke green robes and a matching, pointed hat that had an ungainly silver star dangling from the tip. He was also somewhat narcoleptic, so he would suddenly drift off in the middle of a lecture about summoning charms and such like that, and wake up an hour later, not realizing he'd ever stopped talking. 

There were only two other students in the class besides Evee. One was the blonde girl that had shown Evee the room. She had introduced herself as Euphrosyne (**you-fros-eh-nee**), but Evee thought that was a mouthful, so she had immediately taken to calling her Frostine or Frosty for even shorter. The other student was a complete mystery.

He had black, messy hair, much like Harry. In Evee's opinion, he even looked like Harry in many other aspects. Except unlike Harry, the boy was insanely tall and gangly. He couldn't fit his legs under the table without stretching them all the way out in front of him. He also wore no glasses, had no scar, and instead of green, the boy's eyes were ink black.

"That's Charlie. He doesn't talk," explained Euphrosyne quietly as she led Evee deeper into the room.

"Sorry I'm a tad late," Evee apologized. "Where is Professor Baggis?"

Euphrosyne pointed to a mass of green, slumped over a severely disorganized desk. "Sleeping." She then explained the Professor's condition to Evee.

"Ahh…" Evee said once she had finished. "So what do we do while the Professor is… er… indispose?

"Practice." Euphrosyne grasped Evee's hand and pulled her to a table towards the front of the room. She drew her wand and placed a long feather on the tabletop. "Professor Baggis just lectures. He never lets us _try_ the spells."

Evee laughed. "Well that's just silly." Charlie squirmed in his seat and Evee's attention was drawn to him. She leaned down and whispered into Euphrosyne's ear, "Doesn't Charlie want to practice too?"

Euphrosyne shook her head and prepared her wand. "He doesn't like magic."

"_Then why is he here?" _Evee wondered.

"_Wingardum Leviosa!_" Euphrosyne whispered to the feather. Evee recognized it as the same spell Hermione had used to levitate Ron on the train. She watched the feather rise off the table inch-by-inch, but also kept an eye on Charlie, who was shying away from them, his hands gripping the table tightly.

"You're good at magic," complimented Evee. "What are you in the magically challenged class?"

Euphrosyne looked down at the feather, which had begun to shake furiously. There was a small explosion and a cloud of black smoke enveloped them. Evee coughed and waved her hand back and forth in an attempt to clear the air.

Once the smoke had dissipated, Evee saw that Euphrosyne has sunk to the floor and was crying loudly. With a glance over to Professor Baggis to make sure he was still asleep (he was), Evee rushed around to comfort her.

"Every time!" Euphrosyne wailed. "Every time I try a spell. No matter what kind, it always does… _that_!" She pointed a shaking finger to the disintegrated feather.

"Shh…" Evee rubbed her back. "Don't worry. You're already better at magic than I am."

Euphrosyne sniffed. "It's just that Draco gets all the attention 'cos he's so bloody good at everything! Mum and Dad love him better. Always have. They just send me here to get rid of me. I'm no witch, I'm just a disappointment!" She rubbed her puffy eyes with the back of her hand.

Evee pulled back. "Draco? Draco Malfoy?"

The girl nodded. "He's my brother. My stupid, rotten, older brother!" She punched the leg of the table in anger.

Evee felt like doing the exact same thing.


	15. Baggis: The Teacher From Hell

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... blah, blah, blah...**

**A/N: Thanks to all the people who reviewed! I'm proud to say, this is my most reviewed story!!!**

* * *

"B-brother?" Evee stammered. She placed her hand, which was previously resting on Euphrosyne's back, in her lap. 

Euphrosyne looked shocked. "Oh!" She winced and jumped up, straightening her skirt. "I wasn't supposed to mention that…" She turned to Evee and clutched the front of Evee's robe. "Please don't say anything! I was sworn to secrecy."

Evee pried Euphrosyne's hands off her robe. "Your brother made you swear not to tell anyone you were his sister?"

"No." Euphrosyne looked away sadly. "My dad did." She retrieved her wand off the floor and pocketed it, then sat at her table and stared moodily at the black scorch mark that was once a feather.

Evee was stunned. _"Her father? What kind of twisted family is that? I feel so bad for her."_

Charlie snorted a stifled laugh and Evee whirled around to face him. "You think that's funny, do you?"

He said nothing and kept his face blank, staring straight ahead with his empty eyes.

Evee rolled her eyes at him and turned beck to Euphrosyne. "Come on, Frostine," she pleaded. "Cheer up…" her voice faded. _"I just told a girl who's practically been disowned by her family to 'cheer up'. What's wrong with me?"_

Charlie smirked like he wanted to say something, but Evee did her best to just ignore him.

Seeing that Euphrosyne was beyond consolation at the moment (she was drawing swirls in the ashes from the feather), Evee went and sat by herself. She sighed and placed her chin on the table, looking at Euphrosyne's back, then sideways to Charlie. Evee exhaled, closing her eyes. It was probably best if she left her alone for now…

Flashes of scenes passed before her eyes as she sat there, half asleep, like bits of a forgotten memory. Her mum crying, the rotten stench of death, and an ear-splitting scream that died into flames. Evee choked a little and bolted upright.

Euphrosyne was still brooding and Charlie was still staring off into space. He looked slightly agitated now. His fingers were twitching on the tabletop.

"_What was that about? It felt kind of like an old dream…"_

But Evee knew that the fire part was no dream. That's how her mother had died.

When Evee had woken up in the hospital a few weeks after the fire destroyed her house, she couldn't remember a thing. Not even that her mother had been killed. All she knew was that she had a mild concussion, some fractured ribs, and a very deep cut across her fingers that seemed, to the doctors, to be perpetually infected. And no matter how hard she tried, Evee just couldn't remember that night.

One wouldn't think she'd _want _to remember the night her mother died. But Evee had beaten herself up trying to do just that. She thought about it so much, it made her sick and she had to stay in the hospital an extra two weeks.

Evee had forced herself to be resigned to the fact that she'd probably never remember. And she was okay with that… well… mostly… not.

She pressed her forehead with her fist, her fingernails digging into her palm. _"Why can't I remember?"_

"_You can… You do…"_

"What?"

Euphrosyne turned around and gave Evee a puzzled look. "Excuse me?"

"What did you just say?" Evee clenched the table, her knuckles turning white with the strain.

"'Excuse me'?" She still looked on the verge of tears and Evee probably wasn't helping.

"No! Before that!" Evee practically screamed.

"I-I didn't say anything… Please don't be angry," stammered Euphrosyne.

Evee took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, no. I'm not mad."

Euphrosyne seemed to exhale a sigh of relief. "Alright…" She smiled and turned away again. It was almost funny how easy it was to make her upset then happy again so quickly.

"_That wasn't a dream…"_

Chills ran up Evee's spine. She wasn't imagining it. Someone was talking to her. She turned to Charlie. He was staring straight at her in an unnerving sort of way that made Evee want to squirm. She matched his unblinking stare with a grimace. Something wasn't right with him. Who goes to a school for wizards if they're afraid of magic?

"-And that is why when you say the incantation correctly, one is able to mend things that have been broken. Now- oh. The new student. Nice to see you've finally blessed us with your presence."

Evee didn't look up. She knew it was Professor Baggis had awoken and was speaking, but she didn't really care. Euphrosyne shrunk down into her seat while hastily trying to brush away the feather remnants. The Professor didn't seem to notice and kept badgering Evee, who was still not paying attention.

"Do you have a late pass?" He leaned down to Evee's level, one eye protruding a bit from its socket.

"No," Evee said lamely. She didn't feel like making up a flamboyant excuse or even telling him the truth as to why she was late.

"Detention, then!" Baggis shuffled back up to the front of the room and turned back to the class, one hand placed importantly on the opening flap of his robe. "Now if Miss…" he ran a finger down the roll list. It shouldn't have been that hard to find Evee's name seeing as his class only had three students. "Collins," he finished. "is done interrupting, let's continue with our lesson. The next charm we will be studying is the summoning charm. When…"

Evee watched Baggis dictate with feigned interest. Euphrosyne, however, seemed thoroughly engrossed. Evee had watched her pull a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink out of a small, silk bag slung around her chair and start taking notes at top speed. _"Teacher's pet,"_ Evee thought.

Baggis paced back and forth, flinging his bandy arms out wildly. He reminded Evee of a teacher she'd had in grade school. It seemed like no matter what Evee did, the teacher was forever furious with her. Evee struggled to remember her name. _"Jiggins?... Jergens?... One of the two…"_

"Miss Collins!" Baggis broke into her thoughts. "Kindly PAY ATTENTION!"

Evee didn't flinch and Baggis moved in for the kill.

"What, Miss Collins, is the incantation for a summoning charm?" Evee could practically see him drooling in anticipation, waiting for her to get it wrong. And Evee hated to disappoint…

"Erm… Come 'ere?" she guessed with a flutter of her eyelids.

Euphrosyne turned around in her seat, her eyes wide. Charlie let loose an audible laugh that made Evee uneasy.

Professor Baggis began to shake in a manner that reminded Evee of the feather Euphrosyne had demolished earlier. "No," he spat. "This is the second time today you have disrupted my class. ANOTHER DETENTION! To be served-"

He fell over, asleep, mid-sentence. Euphrosyne jumped up, covering her mouth with her petite hands. Evee stood slowly, peering over her desk at her unconscious teacher. She pointed to him and asked Euphrosyne, "Should we move him?"

The other girl nodded and stooped to grab Baggis under the arms.

"No, mummy… Not the blueberry muffin…" he muttered in his sleep. Evee snickered and grabbed Baggis's legs and lifted.

Together, she and Euphrosyne (with no help from Charlie, and Evee was still bitter about it) half-carried, half-dragged Baggis to his desk where they propped him up in his chair.

Evee wiped her brow and turned to Euphrosyne. "Well I guess no detention for me then," she said breathlessly.

Euphrosyne grinned and went back to her desk where she sat quietly, pouring over her notes, her lips moving as she read silently.

"_God! She's just like Hermione!" _Evee laughed inwardly.

A chime tolled the hour and Euphrosyne looked up. "Lunch," she said. She stood and went to the door and opened it. Waiting outside was the most peculiar creature Evee had seen thus far.

It was about three feet tall, with gray tinged skin, huge bat-like ears, and a nose that looked more like a pig's snout than an actual nose. Its eyes were as large as saucers and it was wearing something that resembled a toga with the Hogwarts seal stamped on the front. It was carrying three trays filled with food and three goblets brimming with pumpkin juice.

"Here's your lunches, Miss Malfoy!" the creature squeaked. Judging by the pitch of the thing's voice, Evee thought it was a girl, but she couldn't be sure.

Euphrosyne took the trays from her and said, "Thank you, Nobsey."

Nobsey bowed, "What Miss Malfoy wants, Nobsey gets for her!" she replied gleefully. "Will Miss be wanting anything else from Nobsey?" she bowed again and Euphrosyne shook her head.

"No. That will be all."

"Then Nobsey should be going now, Miss!" She bowed one final time and, still in her lowered position, backed out of the doorway and down the hall.

Euphrosyne kicked the door shut. "House elf," she said as if that explained everything. She carried the trays deftly back to her desk. (Evee admired her grace and secretly envied her for it.) Charlie stood and approached her.

"That one's yours." Euphrosyne pointed to one of the trays. Charlie took it and retreated back to his seat where he began to eat in silence.

Evee cocked her head and glanced at Charlie who was stabbing at a potato with his fork.

"He's a vegetarian," Euphrosyne said, selecting one of the remaining trays.

"Oh." Evee stood before Euphrosyne, shifting her weight from foot to foot as Euphrosyne took a bite out of her buttered roll. "Uh… I kind of told some of my friends I'd eat lunch with them…"

Euphrosyne looked up, then back down to her roasted lamb. "Okay…" she replied sadly.

"But," Evee continued, seeing how lonely her new friend would be in her absence. "I can always eat with them at dinner."

Euphrosyne beamed as Evee dragged a chair over and sat across from her. She pulled a tray towards her and placed her napkin in her lap.

The two shared a nice, relatively quiet lunch until Professor Baggis woke up an hour later, complaining that Nobsey never brought him lunch and magicked himself a plate of sandwiches. He didn't seem to remember assigning Evee detention and she was just fine with that.


	16. Seamus's True Intentions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: I've been waiting for a while to write this chapter, so I hope you enjoy. And you better review! -**

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"Where were you at lunch today?" Ron demanded. 

Evee had just plopped down next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table for dinner. She had barely taken a breath before Ron had started in on her.

"Ron!" Hermione said sternly. She cast him a look that made him quiet instantly. Hermione turned to Evee. "So where were you at lunch today?" she asked, just a little more politely than Ron had.

Evee took a deep breath. She guessed that her new life would be filled with questions like this now that she had real friends. "I ate lunch in the classroom with… a friend."

Food appeared on their enchanted plates and everyone was momentarily distracted.

"A friend?" Ron persisted, taking a long sip from his goblet. "Does he have a name?"

Evee dropped her fork. It hit her plate with a clatter and then bounced to the floor. A fresh one quickly replaced it. She placed one hand on her hip and shook a finger across the table in Ron's general direction. "Why, Ron Weasley!" she said in a mock-scolding voice. "Do I detect a hint of - dare I say it? - _jealousy_ in your voice?" The idea of him being jealous of Euphrosyne and Charlie, of all people, was simply ludicrous.

Ron set his cup down and covered his eyes with his hand. "For the love of Merlin! Don't talk like that!" He hit his forehead on the table. "You sound just like my mum…"

"Really?" Ginny butted in. "Do it again, I didn't hear."

Evee seriously considered complying with Ginny's request, but Ron said, "No, Ginny." He then continued to Evee. "And I forbid you from ever using that voice again… It was just… weird…" He pretended to shudder.

Hermione took a break from chasing a carrot around on her plate and leaned over to Ron. "You just don't fancy your crush sounding like your mum," she said, almost bitterly.

Ron looked dumbstruck. He stared at Hermione, his face slowly turning pink. She smiled smugly and stabbed the carrot and popped it into her mouth defiantly.

"Well, I'd hate it if my crush sounded like my mum," Seamus said. He slid his arm around Hermione's waist and leaned down and attempted to kiss her. Hermione shielded her face with her hand.

"Not while you're eating!" she commanded with a smile.

Seamus shrugged and went back to his dinner.

"She… I-I don't like her!" Ron finally managed to say. "I mean… not like… that…" He looked to Harry for help, but Harry and Ginny were engaged in a flirting match (poor Neville just sat next to Ginny, completely unaware of what was going on) and Harry failed to notice Ron. Ron grabbed his goblet and whispered into it; "Bloody hell…" before taking a swig and wishing it was filled with something a little stronger than pumpkin juice.

"Don't worry, Ron." Evee stood and leaned over the table, both hands on either side of her plate, and smiling in what she thought was a seductive manner. "I don't like you much either." And then she leaned down and hauled him up by his shirt collar. She stood holding him for a few seconds, to make sure everyone was watching and to build up the suspension. Then, without a second thought, she pulled him towards her and planted a wet kiss right on his lips.

She let go fairly quickly and sat back down amid cheers from the other end of their table and a few scattered whistles from the other tables. She asked Harry for his bread as if nothing had happened.

Harry nodded his head, his mouth hanging open.

Evee reached for his plate and brought back a toasted piece of French bread, which she munched on contentedly.

Nobody said a word and Evee asked, "What?" through a mouthful of bread.

Seamus cleared his throat. "Well," he started, but stopped to wipe his hands on his thighs. "That was a good one. Could see Malfoy cringe from a kilometer away."

And indeed as Evee glanced up, she could see Draco Malfoy eyeing her with a mixture of disgust and… was it disappointment?

Ron snapped out of his trance-like state and sat down, burying his face, now a flaming scarlet, in his hands.

Evee turned to Hermione. "Was that too much?"

Hermione slowly laid down her knife and fork and wiped her mouth even slower. "No." Her voice sounded pinched, like she was trying not to yell. "I think that was just the right amount." The way her head was cocked told Evee that she was definitely being sarcastic.

Seeing that if Hermionewas given any more time she'd begin to lash out at her tablemates, Ginny said, "That was a shocker!" She grinned at Harry. "Maybe I should try a stunt like that of my own."

Harry looked over to Neville and then back to Ginny. "Fine by me if it's alright with Neville here."

"Sure is," Neville said excitedly. He had though Ginny was referring to trying that "stunt" with him, but unfortunately, he was sadly mistaken. This caused Ginny to begin giggling uncontrollably which caused yet another awkward rift in the table's atmosphere.

Evee crumpled her napkin and tossed it onto her half-full plate. "I think I'm done."

"We haven't had desert yet," argued Harry.

"It's okay." Evee stood and picked her book up off the floor. "I wouldn't want to be late for…" She almost let slip "my first Transfiguration lesson" but she recovered quickly with a flippant "my date with the bath." She wiggled her fingers at them, her impression of a wave goodbye, and briskly exited the Hall.

Once outside, Evee flung herself against the wall and resisted her brain's recommendation to start banging her head against the hard stone. Evee exhaled to try and slow her heart rate. "That was just about the…_ dumbest_ thing I've ever done!" She commenced beating her forehead with the heel of her hand, chanting, "stupid!" over and over again.

She would have continued on if someone had not caught her wrist.

Evee opened her eyes (it was much easier to slap herself with them shut, she found). Seamus was standing over her, one hand pressed against the wall over her left shoulder, her wrist still firmly grasped in his other.

"Seamus? What's-?"

He suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

Evee opened her mouth slightly in shock, but Seamus mistook it for an invitation to add tongues into the mix.

With all her strength, Evee wrestled herself from his grip and pushed him off of her. "What the hell?" she meant to scream, but before she could say anything, Seamus said, "Just wanted to see if it was a good as it looked."

He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and strutted back into the Great Hall.

Evee stared at the floor where Seamus had just been standing. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then turned on her heel to run up to McGonagall's office. She'd be early for her lesson, but she didn't really care at the moment.


	17. A Snake Called Outlander

**Disclaimer: Don't own nuthin'**

**A/N: Haha! I'm almost done with the 5th book. Victory is so close...**

**Remember to review! If you don't, I might just forget to update... **

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McGonagall's office was empty. And naturally so; everyone was still at dinner. Evee dropped her "Beginning Book of Spells for Extreme Beginners" book on the floor next to a table that was placed in the center of the room that wasn't there the last time Evee was in the office. And on it, in a glass terrarium, was a large white-ish yellowish snake with dark amethyst eyes. 

She stared at it and the snake stared back. Evee really wanted to hold it, but she wasn't sure if she was allowed, so she stayed put.

"Hello…" the snake hissed.

Evee wave. "Hey."

"Why are you here?"

She paused. McGonagall told her not to mention her private lessons to anyone, but did that include snakes? "Erm… I need to talk to the Professor." Which was true, for the most part.

"You look upsset…" the snake slithered towards her, its head pressed up against the glass wall. "What'ss wrong?"

Evee saw a chair across the room. She went to it and dragged it back over to the snake's terrarium. "I can't believe I'm about to have a heart-to-heart with a snake…" she complained as she sat down.

"Call me Outlander…"

Evee's eyebrows shot up and were obscured by her messy fringe. "Alright then… I'm Evee."

"Pleassure." Outlander nodded once, then said, "Your story?"

She then launched into a re-enactment of the night's events. Outlander bobbed his head up and down at regular intervals throughout her story, and hissed, fangs protruding, when Evee got to the part about Seamus kissing her in the hallway.

"That'ss quite a tale…" he mused once Evee had finished. "Be a dear and grab that container of mice off the desk. I haven't eaten all day and I'm famisshed."

"Ummhmm." Evee obliged and stood. She took the white cardboard box off of McGonagall's desk and opened the lid. Inside were about six or seven mice, all varying shades of brown, rolling around on top of each other. "Do you have a color preference?" Evee asked, carrying the box back to her seat.

Outlander chuckled (well, as much as a snake can chuckle…). "I ussually go for the tawney ones, but I'll take what I can get."

Evee picked up the tawney-ist mouse she could find by its pink tail. "Sorry…" she whispered. The mouse screamed at her as she lowered it down to Outlander's awaiting mouth. True, Evee felt bad for the mouse (which, in the short ten seconds she had some to know it, she had named Bobo) but that didn't stop her from watching the snake bite the unsuspecting mouse 'round the middle, clenching his jaw shut until the mouse was still, and then downing Bobo in one fluid motion.

She shook the box. Tiny mice nails skittered on the cardboard. "Care for another? I think I saw a light beige one down at the bottom. He looked… tasty."

He looked tempted, but Outlander shook his head resolutely. "No. Thank you. One per day."

"House rule?" Evee joked as she folded the tabs back down, securing the lid on the mouse-box, and replacing it on McGonagall's desk.

"Theress nothing worsse than an overweight ssnake."

Evee begged to differ. Her mind instantly went to Professor Baggis, then inadvertently to Euphrosyne and Charlie. _"Where do they eat dinner?"_ she thought randomly. "Well, not to worry," Evee said brightly to Outlander. "Tonight, you're looking positively… emaciated!"

If snakes could smile, Outlander would have been doing just that at that very moment. Evee didn't think calling him emaciated sounded very nice in theory, but as long as he wasn't offended…

"It'ss the new sskin. I jusst sshed thiss morning." He jerked his pointed head to the corner of his terrarium where there was a wadded ball of used, deep mahogany snakeskin.

"Wow," Evee breathed. She turned her attention from the skin back to its previous owner. "You can change your skin color?" Outlander nodded and she stared at him in wonder.

"He's an Egyptian Mottlehead, one of the last of his kind."

Evee whipped around.

Professor McGonagall was standing in the doorway, peering sternly at Evee from over the tops of her spectacles. "I heard you were a Parselmouth."

Evee stood, knocking over her chair. "Sorry, Professor. I was just a bit early for my lesson. Er… he's quite a lovely snake."

Outlander bowed his head.

"Um… sorry. I fed him too… He told me he was hungry." She gestured to the bow of mice. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing and tell me how you got in here." McGonagall folded her arms across her chest.

Evee thought she'd be mad about the snake and was prepared to be reprimanded, so it took her a few seconds to gather her thoughts and remember exactly how she _did _get in here.

"I opened the door," she finally replied.

"The door was locked," McGonagall countered.

"Well, not when I got here." Evee didn't want to sound too disrespectful, so she made the statement sound like a question.

McGonagall turned and inspected the doorknob, tapping it here and there with her wand. "It doesn't appear to be tampered with…" she mumbled crossly to herself. "Were you upset?" she abruptly asked Evee.

Evee blinked a few times. "How did you know?" She took a step back. McGonagall might have seen her little show in the Great Hall, but surely she didn't know about Seamus… did she?

The Professor nodded once. "Accidental discharge of magic," she concluded as she made her way to her desk.

"I'm sorry. What?" Evee followed her across the room and righted her overturned chair. With a last glance towards Outlander, Evee pulled the chair up so that it faced McGonagall on the other side of her desk.

McGonagall gave a frustrated sigh through flared nostrils that, in Evee's opinion, made her look like a horse. "When a person is feeling flustered, sometimes, that is if they can't control themselves, they perform involuntary acts of magic." She folded her hands and set them on the desk on front of her. A thin smile crossed her lips. "I think this is a good sign."

"Oh!" Then, realizing that she was still standing, Evee hastily sat down, immensely excited. She fidgeted with the corner of a paper on McGonagall's desk (which happened to be Ron's latest test, a P was scratched on the top in red ink. Evee wondered what exactly "P" stood for.).

The Professor stood. "Now let's begin with the basics." It became apparent to Evee that that meant her first lesson had begun. "I trust you will catch on quickly?" She reached for the box of mice as Evee nodded vigorously. McGonagall selected a mouse and placed it on the desk before Evee where it scurried back and forth between the graded papers. "_Impedimenta._" And with a wave of McGonagall's wand, the mouse froze where it was, halfway between Ron's test and a paper by a girl named Hannah Abbot.

"Your task is to turn this mouse,"-The Professor pointed to the mouse slightly with her wand-"Into a cat toy."

Evee started at the mouse that was slowly regaining its mobility. The task seemed impossible, yet McGonagall had said this was _basic_. _"Basic for _Hermione_, maybe,"_ she thought contemptuously.

"Well what are you waiting for? Draw your wand and recite the incantation," ordered McGonagall

Evee looked away from the mouse's quivering whiskers and up to the Professor. She grinned sheepishly. "I don't know the incantation."


	18. Ron Weasley, a Sexy Beast?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: It might take me a while to make the next chapter, so make sure to review lots and lots on this chappie!**

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Evee trudged back up to the Gryffindor tower two hours later, after taking a serious beating ["beating" used here metaphorically, of course from McGonagall. 

Apparently, Evee was supposed to come to her first lesson equipped with the superior knowledge of how to turn things into other things, none of which she knew.

So the Professor had assigned her homework (two feet of parchment on the proper method of Transfiguration, due the next day) and made her write the spell 300 times before she could leave.

"Password?"

Evee looked up to find she was already at the entrance to the common room. The Fat Lady was staring down at her through sleepy eyes. Evee assumed that she had just woken the Lady up and she was none too happy about it.

"Are you going to give me the password or just stand there?" She placed her chubby arms on her hips impatiently.

"Jabberwocky!" Evee almost screamed. She didn't have time for cheek from a painting.

The Fat Lady swung forward, keeping her eyes locked on Evee. "Testy tonight, aren't we?"

"Yes!" Evee stumbled through the threshold and the portrait swung back into place over the opening. "And thank you very much!" she added over her shoulder.

There were quite a few people in the common room. And most of them looked her way when she came in. Evee vaguely remembered something about kissing Ron… in public…

Most of the looks she received as she walked through the room were ones that clearly said "someone's getting lucky tonight!". The looks she got from the girls of Gryffindor were mostly that of shock and mild disgust. They probably thought she was a slut now that she went and did that. In her own defense, Evee was just trying to prove a point. But she didn't really care what they thought anyway. She just hated it when people stared at her like that.

"Nice one!" said a tough-looking boy with sandy blonde hair who was surrounded by a crew of fellow morons. He licked his lips and his friends did that sort of manly giggle that sounds like "huh-huh! huh-huh!".

Not feeling like he was worth her trouble, Evee just replied, "Thank you. I'll be here 'till June," and saluted them as she walked away to join Ron and Harry at a table by the fire.

They hadn't noticed her arrival. Harry had his nose buried in a thick book and was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment covered in ink spots and things he had previously scratched out. Ron was doing the exact opposite. His book matched Harry's except his looked a little worse for the wear. The spine was peeling off the side, revealing the book's binding. And it was shut. Ron's eyes were closed, his chin resting on the book's cover, an anxious look on his freckled face. There was another piece of parchment next to Ron's hand on the table. The heading said "Gemini and Its Constellational Effect On Venus's Moons" but there was nothing written underneath it.

Evee slammed her "Beginning Book of Spells for Extreme Beginners" down hard on the table between the boys.

Harry jumped and somehow managed to poke himself in the eye from under his glasses with his quill. Ron woke with an unconvincing start and looked around in "bewilderment".

"Hey," Evee said quietly. She pulled up a chair and sat between them. Harry was rubbing his eye. "Sorry." Evee said, acknowledging him. She didn't have the energy to poke [haha. No pun intended. fun at him.

" 'S alright." Harry answered, smiling. "I'll just go blind…"

"At least she didn't hurt you in a more important place…" Ron mumbled morosely, staring at his blank paper.

Harry didn't quite comprehend what Ron was saying. (He was under the impression that Ron had made a failed attempt at a dirty joke.) But Evee caught the drift.

"Are you saying I hurt your _pride_, Ronny?" Evee asked sarcastically.

"Is _that_ what you call it?" Harry asked Ron, totally serious. " 'Cos it's really not much to be proud of…" Harry trailed off. "Well, I mean… I've erm… seen you in the lockers… and all." He quickly returned to his book.

Evee and Ron hadn't really heard Harry's outburst. They were too busy staring at each other, similar expressions of anger on their faces.

"That's _not_ what I meant…" Ron said in a false confident voice that told Evee that was _exactly_ what he had meant, but never thought that she'd catch on.

"Oh?" Evee raised her eyebrows and leaned towards him. "Then do you mean… you _liked_ it?" She batted her eyelashes and smiled sweetly. "There's more if you want it…"

Ron pushed his chair back away from her. "What are you getting at?" His face rapidly turned red, a telltale sign that he was getting embarrassed.

"Come here, you sexy beast!" Evee squealed and lunged for Ron.

In his attempt to doge her grasp, Ron leaned back, causing the already poorly balanced chair to tip. He landed with his back half in the chair, half on the floor. Evee landed (painfully) right on top of him, her face inches from his. Ron's hands flew to his mouth.

All eyes were on them. Harry had thrown down his book and was standing, leaning over the table to get a better look at the pair on the floor.

"Not again!" Ron pleaded through his hands.

Evee's expression didn't waver. She still had a dreamy lovesick puppy look gleaming in her eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not." She took his hands and wrenched them away from his mouth and down to the floor on either side of his head. Evee bent down until her lips were right next to his ear.

"I won't kiss you again. But just know: I could kiss you any time I wanted. Because even though you put up a good show of struggling, you'll let me do it in the end…" she whispered. Evee pulled back and looked at his scarlet face. Ron was breathing heavily and let out an audible gulp as Evee removed herself from on top of him.

A disappointed chorus of "aww"s rang through the room.

Evee sat back down to continue her homework and Harry and Ron obediently followed suit. But the mood was now subdued and soon after that, people began to retire to bed in ones and twos. Soon the only people left were Evee, Ron, and Harry and a smattering of studious 5th years, already obsessing about their O.W.L.s

"_Hermiones in the making…" _Evee thought as her eyes landed on them during one of her periodical scans of the room that she made in an attempt to procrastinate.

She tapped her quill impatiently on her parchment. She didn't really want to do her assignment… What Evee needed was a lackey. Somebody who wouldn't ask questions…

Her prayers were answered when a downtrodden Neville sulked into the room.

Evee jumped at the chance. "Neville!" she called.

He slowly turned his head towards her and Evee beckoned for him to come closer. With a sigh, he slouched across the common room to her.

Evee stood and moved a bit aways from Harry and Ron. She opened her mouth to say something, but once she saw Neville's tear-stained face, she changed her mind and said something else entirely. "What's the matter?"

"Ginny broke up with me," he replied in a monotone voice.

"Oh," Evee said. She surprised Neville (and herself, somewhat) by hugging him briefly and then held him at arm's length by his shoulders. "Sorry, mate." And she meant it. Sure, Ginny and Neville hardly seemed like a match made in heaven, but that must have been a hard blow for a sweet guy like Neville Longbottom…

Then Evee got an idea.

She lowered her voice and glanced over her shoulder. It looked as if Ron had been watching them just a moment before, but had quickly turned away when he saw Evee looking. "I've got a proposition for you." She grasped his hand. "Walk with me?"

Neville nodded and Evee pulled him out of the portrait hole and into the hallway. She could feel Ron's eyes digging into her back the whole way.


	19. Girls Are A Confusing Bunch

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, dammit! Stop asking for autographs!**

**A/N: The number of reviews has been lacking these past few chapters... so press that little purple button that sits at the bottom of the page oh so temptingly, daring you to press it...**

**And on another, less creepy note, I dedicate this chapter to Goth-Inuyasha-Lover, who has reviewed religiously on this and all my other stories! Yay Goth-Inuyasha-Lover! (You get bonus points for this!)  
**

**And to kateg123, sorry Evee seemed manipulative, but there was no other way to write it... she's only a (fictional) human! But I promise, she gets nicer!**

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Ron watched Evee and Neville's retreating backs until the portrait swung shut once again. He shook his head and reluctantly turned his attention back to his nowhere near finished Astronomy essay, sighing. He didn't want to finish it _before_ Evee had rattled his nerves and he _really_ didn't want to finish it now, not being able to think straight and all. Weather it was his fall to the floor or Evee's hot breath against his ear, Ron couldn't tell, but he felt shaken. And he found it quite discomforting. 

With a last look at the door, then back to his essay, Ron said, "I think I'll go to bed."

Harry didn't look up from his paper. "Huh? Oh. Okay. Sure," he replied, not really having heard Ron's statement.

Ron stood and packed everything back into his bag, then headed up the stairs to his dorm.

The lights were off when he got there, but the window was open and through the curtains, he could see the silvery moon. Judging by the mixed snores that filled the room, Seamus and Dean were already fast asleep. Which, in Ron's opinion, probably was the best thing that had happened to him the whole day. He had no intention of reliving the night's events.

Ron undressed slowly, deciding to save his nightly preparations [brushing his teeth, ect… just in case you misunderstood… for the morning. He found his pajamas wadded up under his bed and threw them on before plopping down, not bothering to turn down the sheets.

He lay on the bed, tired, but unable to sleep, a million things crashing around in his mind. The most prominent emotion he could discern was confusion. _She's a confusing girl I suppose… _he reasoned silently. Ron folded his arms behind his head and shut his eyes.

_But is she right? Did I… _enjoy_ it? _He half-smiled, slightly amused. _Well it wasn't bad…_ But then his mind involuntarily shifted to Hermione. How she had glared at him all throughout dinner even when Seamus was talking softly in her ear, trying to convince her to follow him out into the hallway.

Ron did find it strange that Evee appeared unnerved by Hermione's reaction and left dinner early. Seamus followed her out to "make sure she was okay", he said, but returned shortly after looking satisfied with himself. Ron noticed that his eyes shifted from the door to Hermione and back, but after a few minutes, he relaxed and commenced stroking Hermione's bushy hair, completely ignoring his desert.

At first, Ron was hurt that Hermione had begun to spend more time with Seamus, but soon realized he'd have to get over it once they began dating. Ron, along with every other boy at Hogwarts, knew that Seamus was just a player. Ron had once burst into the common room late one night to find Seamus feeling up a rather busty 5th year girl only about a week after Hermione had announced that they were going out. He also knew for a fact that Seamus had not spent his ride on the Hogwarts Express doing homework, as he had told Hermione, but making-out in a secluded cabin with Lavender Brown.

But for some reason, Ron ignored all this and didn't tell Hermione, or anyone else.

_Wouldn't be surprised if Seamus flirted with Neville, if given the chance,_ Ron thought, snapping out of his memory. Neville had always struck him as a somewhat… _confused_ individual. Why Ginny went out with him was beyond Ron's realm of comprehension.

Ron sighed and turned onto his side. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better…

And with that as his last waking thought, he drifted into an uncomfortable sleep. And for once, his dream didn't center around Hermione, as many of his past dreams did, but on a different girl…

* * *

"So if you do my homework, I'm not saying _all_ of it!" for Neville had opened his mouth to protest. "Just… some. And in return, I'll be your girlfriend until you decide to break my heart and leave me in your dust!" Evee concluded melodramatically, her hand clutched to her chest, as if her heart ached at the mere thought of being without Neville for even a single moment. 

Neville and Evee had come to a stop back in front of the Fat Lady after making a full circle of the castle grounds. Neville was worried that they would be caught outside after hours, but Evee was confident she could bullshit her way out of that situation if it came to that.

They spoke of many things while on their walk, but Neville always went back, somewhat reluctantly, yet eagerly at the same time, to Ginny and how "that worthless git", as he put it, Blaise Zabini stole her away from him.

Evee, meanwhile, had racked her brain trying to remember who exactly Blaise Zabini was. She recalled Harry sweeping his hand towards the Slytherin table at large the previous night and saying, "Blaise Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and I daresay you've already met Malfoy… the prat…" before dipping a spoon into his pudding rather violently.

She thought she recognized Crabbe and Goyle as the two brutish fellows who flanked Draco Malfoy on either side at all times and Blaise Zabini couldn't be that horrifically ugly girl hanging all over Malfoy. (Evee had felt a pang of unwanted jealousy as Malfoy leaned over and kissed Pansy, then, as he pulled away, swept his icy eyes towards Evee, his lips curling into a startlingly sexy smirk…)

Once Neville finally stopped talking about Ginny and took his eyes off his shoes for the first time since the pair had been walking and stared up at Evee (who was a good three inches taller than him, and he was pretty tall), he said a shaky, "O-okay… Deal" He stuck out his right hand and offered it to Evee to shake.

She smiled at him as thought humoring a small child. "Deal." She took his hand and shook it firmly once, then against her better judgment, kissed Neville quickly on the lips after casting a furtive glace about her to make sure no one was watching. Evee smiled again. "The deal's sealed."

Neville smiled back and nodded, his cheeks flushing and his eyes returning to the floor where he watched his shuffling feet.

Evee turned to give the Fat Lady the password, and after finding her asleep, rapped the portrait's frame sharply to wake her. Once she was up, Evee said, "Jabberwocky" before the Fat Lady had the chance to complain about how Evee had woken her up twice in one night. She swung open grudgingly with no argument, just a severely dirty look cast at Evee who ignored it and stepped through.

Neville made an odd gurgling sound and Evee turned back around to him, her hand outstretched.

"Well come on!"

He took her hand and let her drag him into the empty common room.

"I have a paper due tomorrow." She released his hand and handed him her parchment on which she had written the subject of her essay for McGonagall. "Two feet." She turned to go up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. "We'll make a show of walking to breakfast tomorrow morning hand in hand, alright?" Not waiting for his answer, Evee finished with, "'Night, babe," and began to climb the stairs.

Still partially in shock, Neville looked down at the parchment she had given him and then back up to the stairs where Evee had disappeared. "Hm…" he grunted. Then he smiled and sat down at one of the many empty tables, picked up a discarded quill, and began to write. It was worth it…

He hoped…

* * *

Ron woke up the next morning, his head surprisingly clear. He'd sorted out many things in his sleep. The most important of which was that he was in love with Evelyn Collins and _not _Hermione Granger. 

_Definitely _not Hermione Granger.


	20. A Hogwarts Montage

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but if I did, I wouldn't have killed off... well, some of those people J.K. did in the 7th book... (I won't say names so I don't spoil it...)**

**A/N: Sorry it took me a while to write this... but I think it is the LONGEST CHAPTER YET!!! (1981 words, my friends!) So I'm expecting 1981 reviews...**

_Chapter 20: A Hogwarts Montage: Including (but not limited to) Broken Noses and Snog-Fests_**  
**

* * *

The next few weeks were uneventful. September slowly faded into October. Evee's remedial classes didn't improve. 

Euphrosyne exploded a chair when she tried a summoning charm and singed the ends of her hair in the process. Luckily, Professor Baggis had a pair of rusty scissors hidden in a pile of paper on his desk and Evee was able to snip off the burnt ends and dispose of them before Baggis woke up. (He had been falling asleep more frequently in recent days.)

Charlie was still weird. He'd stare off into space when Evee turned her attention to him, but as soon as she looked away, she had the eerie sensation that he was watching her.

Her Transfiguration lessons weren't going any better. Evee had memorized the spells she was asked to and got satisfactory grades on all the homeworks Neville had done for her. (Of course she had to copy them over, McGonagall would surely have recognized Neville's writing.) Neville really wasn't all that good at Transfiguration, but then it wasn't all that unnatural since Evee wasn't either. Evee did feel bad about using him though… But he used her too, in some sense, for attention. (All the girls seemed to have noticed Neville since he and Evee had begun dating and he reveled in their attention.)

But Evee had yet to perform magic of any kind, though she noticed that the mouse's tail looked a bit more like string at the end of one of her many mouse-to-cat-toy lessons… But, then again, that could be her over-active imagination flaring up again…

On the plus side, there was no more Evee/Ron action. Nor was there any Evee/Seamus action either, thank Merlin. Most of her fellow Gryffindors seemed to have forgotten the episode in the Great Hall on the first night of the term. Except Hector Dent, the moronic boy that had praised Evee for her actions later the same night. Every time she laid eyes on him, he leered at her, which made Evee cling tighter to Neville's arm, as she hardly went anywhere without him.

Ron, whom since Evee had flung herself upon him that night had been reclusive, finally seemed to forgive Evee's rash actions and was often found hanging around the common room at night with her after Neville had gone to bed. Evee maintained that they were "just friends". Hermione, however, thought otherwise.

She would watch the pair laughing whilst sharing a bag of Every Flavor Beans. There was nothing _apparent_ between the two, but Hermione still kept a vigilant eye on them. The fact that she was with Seamus bothered her slightly, but didn't hinder her obsessive observations.

Seamus was mostly for show. Hermione liked him a little. Enough to agree to date him. But what she felt for Seamus was _nothing_ compared to what she felt for Ron.

Yes. It was true. She, Hermione Granger, was in love with Ronald Weasley. Even the most skilled at flirting detection (a.k.a. Lavender Brown) suspected nothing. Hermione had only confided in Ginny. And Ginny had, in turn, confided in her. But she didn't really need to. It was blatantly obvious that Ginny fancied Harry. "If only that bloody Cho Chang would go off in a corner somewhere and DIE…" Hermione remembered her saying once. Those were Hermione's thoughts exactly. Just scratch out "Cho Chang" and insert "Evelyn Collins"…

* * *

Apparently, Halloween was a pretty big holiday around Hogwarts. Everyone was excited, and even the ghosts seemed to be in higher spirits [ha. I'm so punny… 

Evee had never really liked Halloween much, which caused her much ridicule from the other children in her old neighborhood. Evee preferred to forgo Trick-or-Treating and handed out candy at her door instead. So Halloween was just another day to Evee.

She walked into the Room of Requirement (Evee had long since mastered the art of entering the "come and go room") Halloween morning after an unsatisfying breakfast of dry toast and jam and Neville hanging all over her, failing to accurately imitate Seamus's suave manner.

"Morning!" beamed Euphrosyne. She had a black ribbon in her almost-white hair and a long necklace that looked like it was made out of bones dangling from her neck. A small human-ish skull hug down from its middle. As Evee approached the girl, the skull's eyes turned red and smoke poured out its nostrils.

"_Happy Halloween!"_ it said, its bony jaw clicking with each syllable. It laughed mechanically, and then was quiet.

"Isn't it awesome?" she asked Evee, who was staring skeptically at he skull, waiting for it to speak again so as to give her a good reason to smash it to bits.

Charlie gave a snort from over in his corner, which Evee returned with a shudder. It seemed whenever she had a particularly malicious thought, he laughed. Evee reckoned that couldn't be more that a coincidence, but a creepy one, nonetheless

Evee looked up to Euphrosyne's expectant face and said, "Yeah. It's… interesting."

Euphrosyne giggled and turned, flouncing back to her desk where she was attempting, again, to levitate a feather. Evee saw that the feather stayed intact longer than the first one she had seen Euphrosyne practice with. Evee wondered weather Professor Baggis noticed his supply of feathers dwindling, but as he was asleep so often, it was difficult to see how he noticed anything.

Evee sighed and reluctantly sat down at her table, taking her book and a hot pink hi-lighter out of her bag. She tapped the marker on the cover, trying to decide where she should start. She'd already covered defensive jinxes, shield charms, healing charms, summoning charms, and, upon Ginny's suggestion, Bat Bogey Hexes, and still couldn't do any of them, though she used her class time to practice. Evee absentmindedly flipped her book to a random page towards the back. Her eyes flitted to the heading and her breath caught in her throat.

"_Avada Kedavra…_" she whispered. "Also known as the 'Killing Curse'" she read, moving her finger down the page. "One of the three Unforgivable Curses…" It sounded so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time. Evee could feel Charlie's eyes on her back. She wanted to hit him. Throw her book at him. _Anything_ to make him stop staring at her like… like she was a piece of meat… Or in his _vegetarian _case, a head of lettuce.

BANG!

Evee looked over just in time to see Euphrosyne disappear behind a curtain of thick, black smoke. Evee rushed to her side, coughing and waving away the smoke with her hand. She thought Euphrosyne would be distraught, but instead, she emerged from the smoke with a victorious smile on her blackened face.

"A whole minute!" she cried jubilantly. "It was up a whole _minute_!"

Evee was so relieved to seer her excited and not devastated, she let loose a laugh. "Nice one!" she congratulated Euphrosyne, who was wiping the soot off her face with the sleeve of her robe, and went back to her seat, feeling slightly discouraged.

She turned back to her book and ignoring the illustration demonstrating the Killing Curse's effects, flipped back to the pages containing the necessary elements to forming a working summoning charm. The page was sticky with hi-lighter ink and smudge marks. Evee had always found it useful to mark the parts she thought were most helpful in a book and was always reprimanded for it by her previous teachers. But as far as Evee knew, the book was hers and she could write in it all she wanted.

Figuring it was now or never, Evee took a deep breath and practiced saying the incantation aloud. "_Accio_…" She searched the room for something small she could practice summoning. She found the perfect object and continued. "_Accio _hat…" She glanced up towards Professor Baggis's hat, which was precariously perched atop his slumped head, and smiled. Evee withdrew her wand from her pocket and did a few trial waves, like the book suggested.

Once mentally prepared, Evee held her wand tighter and said in a firm, but quiet voice. "_Accio_ hat!" She flicked her wand and pointed it at the Professor's hat. There were a few moments where Evee held her breath, bit nothing happened. She looked around. Euphrosyne was humming merrily to herself and reading a magazine in an armchair in the corner and for once, Charlie seemed to be focused on something other than Evee. She let out a sigh of relief, thankful that no one had witnessed her feeble attempt at a magic spell. She'd just have to try harder, then.

"_Accio_ hat!" she said, a little more forcefully, putting her full concentration on the aforementioned hat. She waited a few more nerve-wracking moments before saying again, "_Accio_ hat!"

Once more, the hat did nothing. Well, except for slip a little off of Baggis's head, but that might have been because he shifted in his sleep.

Now Evee was thoroughly frustrated with her lack of magical aptitude. She stood, no longer caring if the others were watching, and yelled, "_Accio_, dammit! _Accio, accio, accio_!" while thrashing around her wand madly.

A footstool that usually resided next to Baggis's desk flew into the air powerfully, aimed in Evee's direction. Evee was so surprised that it had moved, that she didn't think to duck, choosing instead to stare at the rapidly oncoming footstool until it hit her squarely in the nose with a horrible cracking sound, followed by a bang.

Evee fell down, half under the desk, her legs splayed out, covered in soot from the destroyed stool, and blood pouring from her broken nose. She couldn't think shat to say, so he pressed her hands to either side of her nose to try and quell the blood flow.

Charlie was the first to give a real, though somewhat outlandish, reaction. After a few seconds of staring, he burst into laughter, rocking back and forth in his chair, his fists pounding the tabletop before him.

"_Piss off!"_ Evee thought furiously as Charlie continued laughing his grating cackle.

"SORRY!" Euphrosyne yelped. It had taken her a few minutes to realize the full extent of what happened. She rushed to Evee's side and hoisted her into a sitting position. After giving her a brief once-over, Euphrosyne concluded, "I think your nose is broken." Don't worry!" she added after seeing the panicky look in Evee's eyes. "Madam Pomfrey can fix it in a pinch. Can you stand?"

Evee nodded and let the small girl help her up. "Wha' habbened?" she asked thickly.

The other girl bit her lower lip and looked away. "I was trying to help you. You know… make you think the hat came to you and let you think you did it…"

Evee stared at her. "That…"

Euphrosyne cringed and shied away.

"… wasn't a hat…" Evee finished with as much of a smile as she could muster under the circumstances.

Euphrosyne smiled and led Evee, who was now tilting her head straight back and pinching her nostrils together, out into the hall with a glance back at the sleeping professor. "I thought it might not explode this time…" she mumbled gravely as the door to the Room of Requirement vanished behind them.

Evee shrugged, the pain in her nose intensifying with each step. She really wasn't mad at Euphrosyne. Evee could understand the girl's reasoning behind her actions. But Charlie… Once Evee was healed, she would show him just how much fun a broken nose really was.

They rounded a corner and came to a halt at the foot of a staircase leading up to the next floor. Euphrosyne raised a thin brow and a very Malfoy-like smirk spread across her face. Evee followed her gaze to the pair entangled in each other's arms at the top of the stairs. A slow realization dawned on her that it was that unfortunate-looking Slytherin girl and Draco Malfoy.


	21. In the Hospital Wing

**Disclaimer: No matter how hard I wave a stick and pretend it's a wand, I will never own Harry Potter**

**A/N: Sorry. This chapter's reeeeeeeeally short, I know. So please don't review telling me so. But you can reviw to tell me other things... Such as how wonderful a writer I am... or how pretty my hair is... or how modest I am... you know... the usual.**

* * *

"Oi!" Euphrosyne called loudly. 

Malfoy and Pansy stopped clawing at each other long enough to find out who had interrupted their snogging session. Malfoy glared at his sister, then turned his cold eyes on Evee.

Evee matched his stare and slowly dropped her hands and tilted her head back down to its proper level.

At the sight of Evee's bloody face and steadily swelling nose, Pansy shrieked with laughter. Malfoy pushed her away from him, nearly sending her toppling over the banister, and stalked off without a second glance.

Pansy looked shocked, then, after steadying herself, turned to Euphrosyne and spat, "Leave my Draco alone!" She turned and ran after Malfoy screaming, "Wait for me, Drakie-poo!"

Evee attempted a contemptuous snort, but it came out as more of a gurgle and she clasped her hands to her nose once more.

"_Drakie-poo_?" asked Euphrosyne, a look of disgust writ large across her face. "Terrible."

They continued their trek to the Hospital Wing. Suddenly, Euphrosyne said, "He doesn't even like her."

Evee's stomach gave a queasy lurch that had nothing to do with her blood loss.

"Pansy, I mean," Euphrosyne explained, mistaking Evee's momentary look of discomfort for a look of confusion. "Draco says she's a real cow."

They turned another corner and were at the double doors that had "Hospital Wing" engraved across them.

"Den by bas he kissing her?" Evee asked.

Euphrosyne paused, her hand resting on the door handle. She didn't meet Evee's eyes, instead speaking to Evee's shoulder. "He was trying to make… someone jealous, I think."

And without another word, she wrenched open the door and called to Madam Pomfrey, who cam bustling out of her office, took one look at Evee, and ordered her to sit down on one of the many hospital beds.

Euphrosyne stood awkwardly at the door until Madam Pomfrey dismissed her back to class.

As the hem of Euphrosyne's robes withdrew behind the door, Madam Pomfrey turned to Evee, her wand at the ready. "What happened here?"

Evee was prepared for that question. "I summoned a footstool and it came to me," she said, trying to sound as proud as possible. No offense to Euphrosyne, but Evee wanted _out_ of the remedial classes and this was her ticket.

Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows, a bit impressed. Evee supposed that all the teachers and staff knew about her obvious lack of magical abilities. "Well, hold still," she told Evee.

With a flick of her wrist, Evee could feel the mounting, throbbing pressure on the bridge of her nose lift. Another flick, and the blood was wiped off Evee's face. She wished she could say the same for her shirt, but Evee was afraid it was stained beyond fixing.

Madam Pomfrey handed Evee a small pocket mirror and Evee took it, eager to see how she looked.

The bridge of her nose was slightly more pronounced, giving Evee an overall look of sharpness about her face. She turned to look at her profile as best as she could, feeling her nose gingerly. It was a bit sore and Evee winced, but other than that, it looked great.

"If you're worried it's a bit larger than before, I can shrink it back down," offered Madam Pomfrey.

Evee shook her head and handed back the mirror. "It's fine." Evee had always somewhat disliked her old nose. She thought it was much too soft and ill defined to match her almond-shaped eyes and hard, angled chin. Now everything fell into place and it looked almost natural.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Evee said as she stood, swaying and feeling lightheaded.

"You should stay for the rest of the afternoon." Madam Pomfrey pushed her back down onto the bed.

"I'm fine. I really need to…" Evee's mind went to Malfoy and how he had reacted when he had seen her. "get to class," she lied quickly.

Madam Pomfrey sighed and magicked a pink slip of paper and a quill out of thin air. The quill scratched away across the slip and then floated to Evee. She grabbed it and hurried out of the Hospital Wing, but not back to class. Instead, she found the landing where she and Euphrosyne had seen Malfoy and Pansy kissing and retraced Malfoy's steps.


	22. Fighting Malfoys

**Disclaimer: I don't have to own Harry... Just Maybe Ron? Or Fred or George? I like red-heads ;) But I'll settle for Malfoy...**

**A/N: Ahh, yet another short chapter... But a very important one... And also the last chapter in Part Two! W00t!**

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It was surprisingly easy to find Malfoy on account of the fact that he was arguing very loudly with someone Evee couldn't see. As she approached, she saw Malfoy, gesturing angrily to another, shorter, blonde-haired person. 

"I've told you never to speak to me while at school. It's bad enough I have to deal with you at home without you following me all over Hogwarts too!"

Evee ducked behind a suit of armor in a niche across the hall from where she stood to get a better view. The second person was now clearly visible.

"I wasn't following you!" Euphrosyne retorted. "I was leading a friend to the Hospital Wing, you worthless git! You're the one who decided to shove your tongue into that… that… _thing's _mouth in plain sight!"

Malfoy looked as if he was about to slap her, his notorious smirk nowhere to be seen.

"Pansy could have-"

"Pansy thinks I'm in _love_ with you!" Euphrosyne interrupted, folding her arms. "Her uni-brow must be so overgrown, she can't see the _family_ resemblance."

Malfoy shot her a warning look, but snorted at her remark. The anger slowly faded from his pale face.

Euphrosyne spoke again. "But if you like Evee, then why do you go about like… _that_ with Pansy?" she asked innocently.

Evee's heart hammered in her chest, but she held herself together.

Malfoy sighed, his shoulders slumping as he leaned up against the wall beside him. "I wanted to make her jealous…" he muttered, as if embarrassed.

Euphrosyne smiled knowingly. "How I know you, _brother_."

Malfoy shot up, staring her down. Euphrosyne had crossed an invisible line by merely stating that she was related to Draco Malfoy.

"Don't call me that!" Sparks flew from the tip of Malfoy's wand as he drew it.

Euphrosyne held her hands, palms forward, at shoulder level. Malfoy jabbed his wand at her throat.

She laughed and smirked a smirk that was very unbecoming on her usually kind face. She slowly lowered her hands, apparently seeing something in her brother's eyes that Evee could not.

"You wouldn't," she said softly. Evee leaned forward, to hear her better and almost knocked over the armor, catching it just in time. "Mother would never forgive you."

Malfoy's wand lowered a bit and Euphrosyne seized her chance.

She drew her own wand and aimed it at his chest.

"What are you gonna do?" he jeered. "Make me _explode_?"

Evee could see Euphrosyne's tough façade fall away, leaving her looking small and upset. "How did you know?"

"There are no secrets in the Malfoy family."

Euphrosyne's wand dropped uselessly to her side as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Did you think Mum and Dad could keep it a secret forever?" he asked her, his grip on his wand tightening. "Keep it a secret that their only daughter is a _squib_?"

"I am NOT a SQUIB!" she shouted, silent tears rolling down her colorless cheeks, her thin frame shaking.

"Might as well be one for all the good you're worth…" Malfoy shrugged. "Might as well just be dead…"

And before Evee knew what she was doing, she had burst out from behind the suit of armor, knocking it over with a clatter, and drawn her wand.

Euphrosyne's bloodshot eyes widened and Malfoy turned around, his wand aimed at Evee, but after seeing who it was, he hesitated. That was his mistake.

"_Stupefy_!" screamed Evee. A red beam of light shot out from the end of her wand, hitting Malfoy squarely in the chest. He fell to the ground and was shortly followed by Evee, who sank to her knees.

_I did magic… I did magic…_ was all Evee could think. Euphrosyne hopped over her brother's body and ran to Evee, dropping to her knees before her.

"You did it!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around Evee's neck and kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered into Evee's sleek hair.

"I did magic…" Evee replied, a lazy smile on her face as she stared at Malfoy's still body… His perfect body…


	23. Part three: Real Magic

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

"Unacceptable!" thundered McGonagall. "Do you not _think_ before you act?" 

Evee shrugged. She really hadn't given much thought to the situation before she stunned Malfoy; she just kind of… _did_ it. And as it turns out, Evee was particularly good at stunning, if at nothing else.

Malfoy was carted to the Hospital Wing shortly after it happened by a fairly befuddled Evee and an exceedingly remorseful Euphrosyne, who was convinced her brother was dead. (At first, she had been happy she was no longer in danger from Malfoy harming her, but once she had seen how very still he lay there, she had become quite upset, though not mad that Evee had been the one to cause his state.) Evee, on the other hand, was sort of proud her magical facilities were finally making themselves known, but also felt bad at the same time. She hadn't meant to cause Malfoy serious damage.

"What on _earth_ did you do to him?" Madam Pomfrey had asked them once they had laid Malfoy down on one of the white-sheeted hospital beds.

Evee answered, suppressing a small smile, "I stunned him."

Madam Pomfrey looked back to the prone Malfoy, whose skin was rapidly turning lilac and had small tentacles, complete with tiny suckers, sprouting from his forehead. She looked at him in astonishment as the tentacles began to thrash around, beating him about the face.

"I -uh- guess I don't really… know what I… did… after all," was all Evee could say after that. She rubbed the back of her head and stared at Malfoy, Euphrosyne gripping her arm and becoming more insipid by the second.

And when Malfoy began to grow gills, Madam Pomfrey decided it was high time to call in McGonagall.

And now Evee and Euphrosyne were in McGonagall's office, accompanied by Professor Akai, an Asian witch who was the Potions teacher and the head of Slytherin, and, of course, McGonagall, who was yelling at Evee profusely as Euphrosyne sat crying quietly. (She was sure the two were going to be expelled.) Akai watched the yelling from where she stood behind Euphrosyne's chair, her hands gripping the upholstery tighter and tighter.

"I think expulsion is in order," she suggested once McGonagall took a break from her tirade because she was out of breath.

Euphrosyne hiccupped and began to plead, "No! Please don't expel me! It was an accident!" Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the arms of her chair for dear life. Evee, too, gripped the arms of her chair, but only so as to make it harder on the two witches if they did, in fact, expel her, when trying to get her to leave. _They'll have to drag me out…_ she thought.

"Of course you won't be expelled." Akai snapped to Euphrosyne. "You weren't the one at fault, I'm sure." She cast Evee a dirty look that Evee returned with venom.

Euphrosyne looked relieved, and sat there trying to calm herself down as McGonagall returned to yelling. Evee didn't blame Euphrosyne for only being concerned with her own welfare at the moment. It was _her_ brother that had been hurt and it'll be _her_ father she'll have to answer to. And expelling her wouldn't make anything better with _their_ family dynamic…

"Expulsion is out of the question!" McGonagall said, her rant finally coming to a close. Evee breathed an inward sigh of relief and eased her grip on the chair. "I do, however, think _detention_ is in order."

Akai snorted, but agreed. "Do you want the honors, or shall I?" She crossed her arms. Judging by the expression on her face, Akai _really_ wanted to "the honors".

McGonagall gestured formally to Evee and said to the other Professor, "By all means."

Akai nodded once, her simper expanding into a full-blown smirk, and turned to Evee. Since it was the first time she had looked directly at Evee, Evee had failed to notice before that the Professor had the most intriguing green eyes Evee had ever seen.

"Saturday. 7 o'clock _in the morning_. My office." Akai turned to go, her black silk robes shimmering in the candlelight. "Come," she ordered Euphrosyne, who obediently stood and followed her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Evee exhaled, ruffling her fringe, and stood to go.

"Sit!" McGonagall commanded. Evee reluctantly sat back down and stared meekly at the Professor.

"I really didn't mean-"

McGonagall held up a hand to silence her and Evee obliged gratefully. She waited, hands folded in her lap, for McGonagall to speak. And when she did, Evee was utterly surprised by what she said.

"Congratulations. You'll be moving to regular classes tomorrow morning. Your schedule will be given to you at breakfast. You may leave."

Evee stood once again and made her way to the door. She stopped and turned back. McGonagall looked up from a paper she had begun to grade.

"Yes, Miss Collins?"

"Just so you know. Malfoy was going to hurt her," Evee said quietly.

McGonagall nodded and looked back down. "Yes, I'm aware."

"Okay…" Evee turned away and walked out into the hall, the door closing behind her. She didn't know where to go, she had already missed lunch, and so she began to stroll aimlessly down the hall, contemplating the day's events.

The fact that she had done magic took the backseat in Evee's mind. _I did the right thing… right?_ she asked herself countless times. The only answer she could think of was _yes_, but for some reason, Evee felt doubtful. Euphrosyne's words followed her, _"But if you like Evee…"_ Did he really like her? Well, probably not anymore. Not after she did… whatever she did to him.

Evee looked up to find herself at the entrance to the Hospital Wing. She supposed her subconscious led her there and she had no reason to argue with it. So she pulled open the door and stepped inside.

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**REVIEW PLEASE!!!**


	24. The Dark Mark

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I had writer's block and then school started... So there are my lame excuses! And another thing, I've noticed that a bunch of people have favorited the story or put it in their alerts, but it seriously doesn't take much more time to review... so if you would, please? Otherwise I'll have to go off in the corner and be emo and such and never write another word of this story!  
**

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Madam Pomfrey was no where to be seen, which Evee was thankful for. She probably would have just chased Evee out before she even had time to see him. And Evee really wanted to see him... 

She found his bed, which wasn't hard to do; it was the only occupied one in the ward, and sat down in a chair next to him.

Malfoy's skin was pale, paler then usual, and almost looked transparent. Evee longed to trace the thin, blue veins that stretched across his cheek, but her anger kept her hand securely in her lap. His lips were blue. Had he not been breathing deeply, Evee would have thought him dead. She noticed that Madam Pomfrey had managed to remove the gills and tentacles from his face, and smiled slightly. So Evee hadn't killed him afterall. _I'm sure Euphrosyne will be pleased... _

He winced in his sleep and mumbled something that Evee couldn't understand as his fingers twitched on the white sheets. Once again, an unbidden thought stole into Evee's mind. Her hand reached out to take his, but she pulled back and held her hand against her chest, sheilding it protectively with her other hand.

He had tried to hurt her friend.

_But he didn't..._

He was going to kill her!

_But he didn't..._

Only because I stopped him!

The arguing voice inside her head seemed to shrug and quiet down, resigned to the fact that Evee wasn't going to give in... But it had come so close to winning...

Suddenly, Evee stood. She shouldn't be there. Malfoy had deserved what he got and it was stupid of her to be thinking the things she was thinking. She glared at him and said, "I came to apologize, but you don't deserve it!" Evee wished she felt as strong as her words sounded.

He didn't hear her. But it still made Evee feel better to know that she had said it. And with a final dirty look, Evee turned to go.

"No," Malfoy croaked horsely.

Evee whipped back around, thinking he was awake, but realized that his eyes were still squeezed shut as if he were in terrible pain. For all Evee knew, he might very well be. And it was all her fault...

He clutched at his left forearm, trying despretly to tear off his sleeve. Evee hurried back to his side and stood over him, her brow creased with worry.

"It burns..." he wimpered quietly. "Please, make it stop..."

She stared at him, unsure of what to do.

"Oh, hell!" she said before taking Malfoy's wrist in one hand and pushing his sleeve back with the other.

Evee got it to his elbow and stopped. There was something on his skin... No... _In_ his skin. It pulsated like a heartbeat and Malfoy writhed about in his sleep, tangling the sheets around him. She bent down and studied the tattoo, her right hand still grasping Malfoy's wrist.

It was a snake entwined around a skull. Evee, who had been to many tattoo parlors in her day, had never seen something like this. The craftsmanship was crude, yet strangely beautiful at the same time, and the edges, laced with green, had a floursent tinge to them and appeared to be glowing in the dim light of the Hospital Ward.

Cautiously, she let go of his wrist and touched the mark with her right forefinger.

For a breif second, the skull burned brighter and the faded. Malfoy's eyes shot open at Evee's touch and his ear-splitting scream filled the room. Evee looked around wildly to see if anyone was coming, but no one was there... yet. Surley the whole castle could hear Malfoy's screaming and would soon come running. Her finger burned and she stuck it in her mouth. Evee looked down at Malfoy once more. She didn't want people to think she was "trying to finish the job" and didn't know what else to do besides run.

And run she did.


	25. Harry Sees and Evee Remembers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: Okay so I know I can be a bit review whore-ish, but w/e. It just keeps me motivated to keep writing when people give me feedback (good AND bad.) So thanks :)**

* * *

Harry was sitting in his potions class taking notes. The new teacher was incredibly boring, but since he only asked for and E to be in his NEWTs class, Harry decided to continue on with potions last year. He had to admit that Slughorn had been far more interesting than the smarmy bloke they had teaching now. 

He set down his quill and and rested his chin in his hands. _Another hour of this, and I think I might die..._ he silently complained.

Then he heard it. A distant scream. And before he knew it, Harry was looking into Voldemort's mind. And Voldemort was very happy.

_"Have you found her?" Harry asked a man kneeling at his feet with Voldemort's voice._

_The man looked up. Harry could see that it was Wormtail. "Yes, my lord. We've found the girl."_

_"Bring her to me," he ordered. Wormtail stood and scurried away. "And no mistakes!" he called after him.  
_

_"Of course not, my lord!" Wormtail cried as he left the room._

_Voldemort turned his gaze to the glass-less window. It overlooked a decrepid and overgrown garden with a high fence separating it from the road. He drew his wand from his sleeve and caressed it thoughtfully. "I must have her soon..." He smiled. "Evee..."_

Harry awoke lying on the floor, fifteen pairs of eyes staring down at him reflecting varying levels of concern.

Hermione bent down to help him up. "What did you see?" she whispered in his ear.

"Nothing good," Harry replied.

"Do you need to pay Madam Pomfrey a visit, Mr. Potter?" asked the teacher in his smooth voice.

Harry clutched his head and swayed rather convincingly, putting on a good show. "Yes," he answered. "And could Ron and Hermione escort me? I don't think I'm able to stand..." Harry stumbled and Ron caught him by the arm.

The teacher waved his hand in dismissal and they hurried out of the classroom and into the hall.

Once the door was shut behind them, Harry told Ron and Hermione what he had seen in a hushed voice.

"We have to find her!" Ron said.

Hermione and Harry nodded their heads in agreement and the three took off towards the Room of Requirement. Surely she would be there in class, safe... at least for the moment.

* * *

Evee burst from the Hospital Wing, her hair streaming behind her. People were beginning to poke their heads out from behind their classroom doors, wondering what all the noise was about. They all stared at Evee as she streaked by, but she kept running. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she needed to get there quickly. 

Evee was moving so fast, she neglected to see the staircase before her switching places. She took a head-long dive to the end, seeming to hit her head on every stair as she fell.

She lay at the bottom, waiting for the staircase to stop moving and her head to stop spinning so she could continue running, but once it did, Evee was surprised to see a pair of shoes in front of her face. She was even more surprised once she looked up and found who the shoes were attached to.

It was Charlie. He stared down at her as if he had never seen someone so ridiculous in his entire life. Evee thought he was about to laugh, and set her jaw as she tried to stand. She didn't have time for his mind games. But instead of laughing to her expense, he offered her his hand.

Evee looked at it then back to his face. There was no trace of mockery there now, just... panic. How suddenly his look of joy had been replaced.

She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. But once she did, she almost fell to the floor again.

Evee was back in her house.

She saw her mum's crying face as she pushed her into the hole beneath the floor.

She heard the crash and felt the floor shake as the side of her house was ripped away.

The smell of rancid, horrible things Evee couldn't even think of wafted it's way through the cracks in the floor...

Then it all came back to her in one wild rush._  
_

"_Evee…" a man whispered feebly._

"_She's not here!" Catherine shouted. Evee pressed her eyes to the crack, but all she could see was the underside of one of her mum's fuzzy slippers and the hem of a black cloak._

"_Silly girl. You're willing to die for her?"_

_Catherine croaked, "Leave her alone!"_

_There was a rasping laugh that sounded like wind blowing over dried leaves. "_Avada Kedavra_!" said the person coldly._

_Evee saw and felt her mother's body fall to the floor. Evee bit her hand to stop herself from crying out and tears sprung to her eyes._

_Heavy footfalls moved above her and shoes blocked out the sliver of light through which Evee was looking. She scooted back further under the floor in an effort to be hidden better. It seemed to get even quieter, if possible. Evee held her breath and waited for the feet to move away._

_With an ear-splitting _CRACK_, the floorboards were splintered and thrown into the air. A gray, dead-looking hand with long, dirt encrusted fingernails reached down into the hole. Evee tried to move back farther, but there was nowhere left for her to go._

_The hand was reaching. Grasping for her. It took all of Evee's strength not to make a sound. She turned away and squeezed her eyes shut. The hand grabbed at her head, tangling its grimy fingers in her hair, and pulled hard._

_Evee let out a yelp and was dragged up and out from under the floor. She was held a foot off the ground, still by her hair, with her back to her assailant. She looked down to find her mother staring back up at her, glassy-eyed with a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of one of her eyes like a tear. Evee began to writhe in the man's grasp. "No!" she shrieked._

_She was swung back and hurled at the wall in front of her. Her head hit the hard bricks and all the air was forced from her lungs. Evee tried her best to stand, but she was dizzy and her vision was blurry._

"_What a waste," the man said, nudging Catherine's leg with the toe of his boot._

_Once again, Evee tried to stand, but found that she couldn't and collapsed back on the floor at the man's feet._

_He bent down so that his foul breath hung right in Evee's face like a cloud. "Your turn." He pulled his hand back. "_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" he roared as he arced his arm back towards her face.  
_

_The only thing she could think of doing to protect herself was to throw her hands up in front of her face to lighten the blow. Evee felt a searing pain across the tips of all four fingers of her right hand._

_The house was filled with a scream so violent and terrible, Evee didn't even have the words to describe it. She leaned her head against the wall and shut her eyes, praying it would just stop._

And then it did.

Evee opened her eyes to find herself back in the hallway, her hand in Charlie's, turning white from lack of circulation.

Charlie looked at her and Evee saw that he had seen it too. The dark man who had killed her mother and tried to kill her too. And Evee understood. She flung her arms around Charlie's neck. She expected him to shy away, but he wrapped his long arms around Evee's waist and squeezed back. He seemed to be saying sorry. But Evee was unsure of what he had to be sorry about.

And without another word, Evee took off down the hallway, now sure of where she was going; back to the Room of Requirement. She knew that her friends would be waiting for her. She didn't know how she knew, she just did.

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the door to the Room of Requirement, out of breath and still desperate to find Evee before Voldemort did. 

"But... how do... we get... in?" Ron asked between breaths.

Hermione thought a few moments before beginning to pace back and forth, whispering, "We need to find Evelyn Collins..."

The doors appeared and opened. On the other side stood Evee. She looked surprised, but also relieved that they were there. Evee ran to Hermione and embraced her. "He killed my mum," she said. "I saw it. I remember. Charlie helped me see it."

Hermione pulled away. "Charlie? Charlie who?"

That was a very good question... Evee had never thought to ask Charlie the time of day, let alone his last name. "I don't know. Why?"

Hermione's eyes widened. She took Evee's hand and pulled her back into the empty classroom, followed by Ron and then Harry, who was careful to make sure the door was secure from both sides.

Hermione forced Evee into a desk and sat on top of it in an almost teacherly way. "What does Charlie look like?" she asked, her voice sounded calm and measured, but anyone who had known Hermione for long knew this was just an act she put on so that people wouldn't see her sweat.

"Why does that matter?" Evee asked, annoyed.

Hermione sighed. "Just tell me what he looks like... please."

Evee saw the look of concern in her friend's eyes and answered briskly. "He kind of looks like Harry, except with no glasses and no scar and Charlie's much taller and his eyes are black."

Hermione sank into a chair in the desk opposite Evee.

Ron rushed to her side, Harry followed suit, but kept his distance from the two.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked Hermione, stroking her bushy hair.

"I'm fine... I was just surprised is all."

Evee stood and pushed the desk back. "So why is Charlie so important?"

Hermione looked at Evee like she was a mother giving her small child the news that the family cat had been run over by a truck. "He's important because he's your brother."


	26. The Truth

**Disclaimer: It's late and I don't own Harry Potter... I have no idea what being late has to do with anything, but oh well...**

**A/N: The way I plan it, there might only be two, maybe just one, chapter(s) after this, so... Oh, hell! I don't know! Enjoy the story, or something!**

* * *

"What?" Evee asked Hermione. How was it possible that Charlie was her brother... her mum would have told her... _But she didn't tell me she was a wicth, so why would she tell me about this?_ Evee asked herself. 

Harry and Ron seemed just as confused.

"Well, technically, Charlie is Evee's _half_ brother. They have different fathers." Hermione reasoned.

"Who the hell is _Charlie's _father then?" Evee cried in frustration. Not only was somebody trying to kill her, she now had this new family thing going on. Life was beginning to be too hard to handle.

"Snape! Snape is Charlie's father!" Hermione cried. "That's how he showed you! Charlie is a Legilimens just like his father!"

Evee sat back down and Harry also took a seat. Ron chose to just simply plop down on the floor inbetween Evee and Hermione. "So... erm... my mum... and that Snape guy...?" Evee couldn't get a coherent sentence out of her mouth. The thought of her mother and Snape was just... disturbing. Evee could see the others thought so too. Well, at least the guys seemed to. They were both cringing and doing their best not to look at Evee.

Then Evee remembered something McGonagall had told her in her office on the first night of the term...

She stood abruptly and announced. "We need to see Professor McGonagall!" She looked around to see that her friends were looking at her as if she was off her rocker. "Now!" Evee added to imbue a sense of urgency in their heads.

They all jumped up and were out the door and down the hall before Evee could say another word to motivate them.

_"We need to keep you under our watchful eye. Wouldn't want you to run off like your mother, and disappear without a trace."_ That was what McGonagall had said to her, but she never embellished on the subject. And now Evee was quite sure why.

Luckily, Professor McGonagall was in her office when the four knocked. As if by answer, the door swung open and they piled in, Evee in the lead.

McGonagall looked up from her Daily Prophet and stared at them, shocked to see them all in her office of their own accord. "May I help you?"

Evee wasted no time. "Why did my mother run away from here?"

McGonagall's face grew pale as she laid the paper down, carefully creasing it, on her desk. "Now is not the time to discuss such things." Her eyes darted from Evee to each of her firends in turn and then came back to rest on Evee.

"Now is the perfect time!" Evee almost yelled. "Please," she added for courtesy's sake, then sat down calmly in the chair opposite McGonagall. The chair Evee had so often sat in, trying to turn a mouse into a cat toy.

McGonagall sighed. "Very well."

"You're mother was the perfect student. She always turned in her homework, was never late for class, Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team. But she had secrets, as most humans do. But it's the perfect ones whose secrets seem the most unbelieveable.

"Catherine was in love with Severus Snape and often snuck out after hours to meet him in the Room of Requirement. This went on for a few years. Most people didn't know. Only their close friends that they chose to confide in, which wasn't many for either of them. Catherine was well liked, of course, but she ofted pushed away from people, not wanting the closeness of another. That was what was so strange about the couple; Severus secretly wanted companionship, but Catherine did not.

"And then, early in their seventh year, Catherine found out she was pregant with Severus's child. Catherine didn't even think to tell the poor boy that he would soon be a father. After that, not many could get over the fact that the perfect girl was still only human."

"And then she ran away..." Evee concluded for McGonagall, who nodded her head.

"Three years later, Catherine left a baby on our doorstep. A boy."

"Charlie," Hermione whispered.

McGonagall nodded again. "Her note said that he was to be returned to his father and that his name was 'Charlie' She had a new family and couldn't take care of him anymore. Nothing else.

"She must have meant me..." Evee said sadly.

McGonagall ignored her and continued. "Severus wouldn't even look at the child when he was brought to him. He just banished him to an unused tower in the school. Charlie only recently began attending classes."

"Why didn't he say anything?" Evee shouted. "Doesn't he know? Why didn't he tell me?"

McGonagall looked at her, shocked. "Haven't you realized that the boy is mute?"

Evee shut her gaping mouth. She _had_ realized that he never spoke, but she just chalked it up to be one of his eccentricities, not an actual disorder. "Oh..." was all Evee could say. "Well, thanks, Professor." Evee stood and the others did the same. "For once, I get to hear the truth."

McGonagall smiled sadly and watced them file out of her office. "Don't be angry at your mother," she called after Evee. "Everyone makes mistakes."

Evee turned and smiled at the Professor before shutting the door behind them.

"Where do we go now?" Ron asked.

Evee looked at him and smiled. "You go wherever you want. This is my battle I have to fight."

"I want to go with you!" he answered defiantly.

Evee looked at Harry and Hermione. "You guys too?"

They nodded and Evee sighed. "Well, since I can't get rid of you, I guess you can help," she said sarcastically. Harry, Ron, and Hermione smiled.

"But before we do anything else, there's still a few more people I need to talk to."


	27. Fixing What Was Broken

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**YAY FOR FINISHING STORIES!!! **

* * *

"Neville!" 

Neville looked up from the book he was reading in a golden armchair in the Gryffindor common room. "Evee!" He jumped up and put the book down, cover up to mark his place. "I heard about what happened to Malfoy! Are you alright?"

The genuinely concerned look on his face made it all the more difficult to tell him what she wanted to. But everyone makes mistakes. And now she had to correct hers. All of them. Even if they hurt the people she was trying to help.

Evee took his hands and said quietly, "Break up with me."

Neville looked confused. "Right now?" He scanned the room. "But why?"

"I've been using you! Can't you see?" Evee's voice was steadily rising. She forced herself to calm down so they didn't draw the attention of the other Gryffindors in the room. The last thing Evee needed right now was another one of her little "outbursts".

Neville opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but changed his mind, and stared at the floor. "You didn't use me. "I used you... To make Ginny mad... To get attention..." Neville sniffed. "It's my fault._ You _break up with_ me_!"

Evee shook her head and dropped his hands. "No. It's not the same." She leaned forward and hugged him hard, and as she did so, she whispered into his ear, "In five seconds, I'm going to walk away. If you haven't broken up with me, you'll regret it. That's not a threat. It's a guarantee."

She pulled away and stared at Neville. He seemed to be wondering what to do; he had his "I'm thinking real hard" face on. After a few moments and he still hadn't said anything, she shrugged and turned back to the portrait hole, ready to move on.

"It's over," Neville said finally, his voice emotionless.

Evee paused, but didn't turn back around to face him. She just nodded and left to meet Ron and Harry, who had waited outside the entrance for her. Hermione had run off to the library, which is what she always did in a crisis. Hopefully, she'd learn something that could help them.

"I'm done," Evee said as she stepped over the threshold and out into the hall. The Fat Lady gave them a curious glance as she swung shut behind them and watched them walk down the hall.

"That girl is more trouble than she's worth," she muttered as the trio disappeared around the corner.

* * *

"I don't know what to do now." 

Ron, Harry, and Evee were outside on the castle grounds, where they had agreed to meet back up with Hermione. Evee, who had been so sure of what she had to do before now, felt utterly lost. She sat down in the coarse grass and looked up at the sky.

"How will I know when he's here for me?" she asked quietly, studying the twinkling stars.

"What do you mean 'here for you'?" Harry snapped. "We're going to him!"

Evee and Ron stared at him and then said simultaniously, "What?"

She rose and put her hands on her hips. "But we don't even know where he is!" she argued.

Harry furrowed his brow. "I think I do..." He looked back up at the castle. "As soon as Hermione comes back, we'll know."

Evee was still confused, as was Ron. But he was almost always generally confused, so he just sat down and crossed his legs, facing the Forbidden Forest, staring past the trees as if he was looking for something. Evee was thinking hard. _What could Hermione have found out that could possibly help us? Why Voldemort wants to kill me? Why he killed my mum? That's a good start. I'll be sure and ask him when we see him..._

Harry suddenly looked back towards the castle again, Ron and Evee did the same. There was a figure running towards them with long, bushy hair, waving a piece of paper back and forth frantically as she ran. Evee smiled. _That must be Hermione_, she thought and then stopped. Since when had she begun to refer to people by their real names in her head? Maybe it was a sign that she'd finally grown up a little. Or at least was a bit more mature.

Hermione got to them and bent over, her hands on her knees, trying and catch her breath. Apparently, she had just run all the way outside from the library, and that was a very long run indeed.

"Well?" asked Harry expectantly, his green eyes shining with anticipation.

She held up the paper. "Got it!" Hermione straightened up and smoothed out the creases in it, holding it in the middle of their little circle so everyone could see.

"_Lumos_," Harry muttered. He positioned his glowing wand tip above them so they could have light to read by.

The paper was very old. It had turned yellow from age and dissuse. Hermione probably only knew where to find it because she had spent so much of her free time in the library. She knew where things were better than Madam Prince, the librarian. In green, caligraphy at the top of the page was "_Slytherin_" and below it, names. Thousands of tiny names, most with a red slash through them, like blood, with lines connecting one to another.

"It's a family tree," observed Ron. "Why is this helpful?" He had always somewhat doubted Hermione's faith in the library.

Evee nodded in agreement to his question.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I found it a few years ago. I think it was when we were looking for a way for Harry to breathe underwater for the Tri-Wizard Tournament our forth year. It was stuck between the pages of one of the books we used. It's not really a good place to be keeping and old document like this." She shook it slightly. The soft wind was blowing under it, causing the edges to fold over. "It could be damaged or-"

"Please, Hermione!" interrupted Harry with an exasperated tone. "Just tell us what you found!"

Hermione looked hurt that Harry had cut her off so rudely. She narrowed her eyes at him and continued, "Anyway. When I found it, naturally, I read it."

"Naturally," Ron interjected sarcastically.

Hermione ignored him. Now she was talking only to Evee. "And I saw your last name mentioned a few times!"

"What?" Evee asked. McGonagall had told her her mother was a desendant of one of the four founders, but Evee hadn't thought to ask which one. But if her mother was desended from Slytherin, then that must mean Evee was too.

Hermione handed Evee the paper and pointed to the very bottom. Evee squinted and sure enough, there was her name in small, black letters, a line connecting her to her mother and father, both of which had their names crossed out in red. Evee feared hers would be too soon enough.

Hermione asked, "See it?" She seemed quite pleased with herself that she had found this piece of information.

"But if you found this three years ago, how do you remember seeing my name?" Evee asked, astonished. Certainly no one could remember something as unimportant as a random last name for a week, let alone three whole years.

Hermione smiled. "I never forget _anything_ I read."

Ron leaned over and said, more to Evee than anyone else, "It's true. She's like an elephant."

Hermione gave him a dirty look.

"I mean in that respect... That you never forget..." he finished meekly.

Evee was still studying the family tree. There was Charlie. She traced the line from his name to her mother's and then to Severus Snape and shuddered. The thought of her mom and Snape was just... _icky_! (yes, Evee actually thought "icky"). She scanned the page for more familiar names. "Tom Riddle," she said and pointed to his name.

"Better know as 'Lord Voldemort'," said Harry with a grimace.

His line went to another Tom Riddle, whose line went to Voldemort's mother, Merope Gaunt, and from his mother to another man named Manfred Collins. And from between Manfred and Merope came Edwin Collins, Evee's grandfather, her mother's father. (And FYI, when Evee's mom married her dad, she chose to keep her maiden name and then when Evee was born after her father had died, Catherine decided to give Evee her name too... so yeah.)

"Then Voldemort is my..." she counted the names, "Half-grandfather?" She double checked her counting. "Or... something... but whatever he is, we're related." She thrust the paper back to Hermione who folded it carefully and shoved it down her shirt. (Evee gave her a strange look, but Hermione just shrugged. _Well, at least if we're caught, they won't think to look there... _Evee concluded.)

"Looks like it," sighed Harry.

"Ooh. I feel bad for you..." consoled Ron.

Evee rolled her eyes and turned back to Hermione. She seemed to be the only helpful person in their group at the moment. "Is that why he's going to kill me? Because we're related?"

"'Why he's going to _try_ to kill you'! You're so negative!" Harry said, folding his arms. "We won't let him kill you."

Evee smiled at him. She admired his courage and wished she could be as brave as that. She took a deep breath. Now came the moment when she had to set things straight. It was now or never, and Evee took the term quite literally in her mind. "Well before we run off to stop Voldemort, there're some things I need to tell you."

"Can't it wait?" Harry complained. His gaze moved to the horizon beyond Hogwarts as if Voldemort would appear there any second.

Evee turned to him. "No. And I'll start with you."

Unexpectedly Evee reached out and smacked Harry on the forehead with her palm. "What is wrong with you?" she yelled at him.

Harry just looked at her, one hand on his head where she had hit him. He seriously had no idea what she was talking about.

"Ginny is in _love_ with you, you git! Can't you tell?"

Harry took a step back, dropping his hand from his face, and Ron whispered "Evee!" through his teeth. Hermione just stood there, her eyes wide and moving back and forth like she was watching a tennis match.

"I know! That's why I broke up with her last year!" Harry shouted back and sat down hard in the grass.

"Oh..." Evee hadn't known that. She'd meant to ask Ron, but just forgot. If she had known, she might have gone about telling him a little more sensitively.

"I don't want to see the people I'm close to get hurt," he said morosely, inspecting a blade of grass.

"Aren't _we_ close to you?" Hermione asked, kneeling beside him.

Harry smiled. "I think you guys can take care of yourselves. Not that I don't _worry_ about you every time we do something dangerous. But I couldn't get rid of you if I tried." Harry laughed anxiously. It sounded strange in the dark night, like it didn't belong there.

"He's tried to abandon us before," Ron told Evee. "Didn't work. It was like feeding a stray cat."

Evee smiled, she could actually relate to the analogy.

Evee turned to Ron next. "Ron..." she didn't know quite how to say what she wanted to, but before she had the chance to say anything, Ron took her hand in his.

"I love you," he said, totally serious.

"What?" Evee asked, shocked. She jerked her hand out of his and put it in the pocket of her sweatshirt, trying to make it look useful so he wouldn't be tempted to grab it again.

Hermione looked like she wanted to throw something large at Evee's head, but didn't have just the right size object to do so, and Harry just looked mildly impressed.

"No!" Evee said so forcefully that everyone jumped slightly.

"What?" he asked her. "You don't like me?" He was rapidly turning scarlet._ How could I _say _that?_ he thought furiously. _She doesn't like me like that. I can see it in her eyes._

"I _do _like you, Ron..." she cast Hermione a sideways glance. "It's just that there's someone who likes you more... You're not really in love with me."

"But I am!" he argued, taking a step towards her.

Evee shook her head and Ron looked down at his feet, then turned and stomped away. He was just so tired of being rejected. And he had thought Evee liked him too! She just sent him so many mixed messages that it was hard to tell which ones were serious and which were just for fun.

Hermione followed him and placed her hand comfortingly on his back, rubbing up and down and in circles.

He turned to face her. "It's _you_, isn't it?" he asked. How had he not noticed before? The girl he had so often dreamt about before he met Evee had been dreaming of him too. And it wasn't until now that he saw it.

"Well, if it was Harry, I think we'd have a problem." Hermione quipped.

Ron smiled before leaning down and kissing her gently on the lips.

He pulled away and Hermione was smiling too. She took his hand and they walked back to Harry (who was whistling) and Evee (who was just smiling). Hermione and Ron both blushed different shades of pink. _The perfect couple..._ Evee thought sadly. She'd never find her perfect match... Even if she lived past this night. For a while, she'd thought it _was_ Ron. But after seeing him with Hermione, she knew she was wrong.

"And Hermione..." Evee turned to her. "I guess I don't need to tell you to dump Seamus now, huh?"

Hermione laughed. "He's a pig, I know."

Then there was an awkward silence, much like the one that they experienced on that first day when Evee had met them.

But somehow, she didn't feel as awkward. Maybe it was because she wasn't "the new girl" anymore, but "one of the gang". Or maybe it was because she'd grown up in the last few months she spent at Hogwarts. Or maybe it was the cold wind blowing steadily harder and faster that seemed to sharpen her senses, yet dull them at the same time. She felt Harry stir next to her and saw him draw his wand from his pocket.

"So when do we leave?" Evee asked him.

"It's too late. He's already here."

* * *

**_The New Apprentice_**** coming soon!**

**(hopefully!)**

**love, hanyouinlove**


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